an experimental of quiet devastation... new musical express |
for all and none was the follow-up to pindrop. keeping the promise of the devils and angels 7" single, the improved (read: commercially viable) engineering offers much more clarity; now we can hear the barrage of 32nd notes on the high hats instead of just waves of white noise, and some upgraded keyboard(s) afford new timbral possibilities. bass lines are played on piano and what could have been synth-riffs are played on guitar... this might be a good place to start with the band if you've never heard them before. many highlights on this album, including dark times, do the bastinado, a good & useful life and the great refusal. as a bonus, the enclosed lyric sheet allows us to appreciate master lyricist dick witts' bitter wit and dark cynicism scott gibbons |
sounds, 6 june 1981
smash hits, 11 june 1981