Back in 1980 the best way to encounter new wave, post-punk, synthesizer, avant-garde and all kinds of non-mainstream sounds was to listen to the late, great, much lamented John Peel. Peel's Radio 1 show (10pm-midnight Mon-Thur) was THE showcase for anything off the commercial radar and he introduced a few generations including mine to all that was interesting in contemporary music.
One evening he played a cool slice of electro heaven called A Living Person by The Metronomes, a quirky Aussie band that mixed weird and melodic electronics, topped off with a supremely disinterested but sexy spoken female vocal. What wasn't to like?
Not for the first time nor the last after listening to Peel, I rushed to get the album and it didn't disappoint. Some lovely synth work - melodic string washes, bleeps, sequences, alien noises and FX - complemented by guitars, inventive vox and basic but effective drum machines. A dark humour shone through this elegantly crafted album, especially on cuts like The Ballad of the Metronome and Sex II, while the gorgeous A Living Person and Music For Lounges just oozed composition and production class. My favourite piece, Justification, provided the crossover between styles with its simple bass step-sequence, delicious strings, swirling high leadline and repeated spoken mantra "At least it has a steady rhythm."
A cover version of this is in the offing sometime; it's on a long list.
The album followed two 7" single releases, 1979's Saturday Night/Sunday Morning and 1980's A Circuit Like Me/Closed Circuit (video below).
The Metronomes did produce another album but not for another five years, Regular Guys (1985). It certainly has its moments but lacks the inspiration and style of its predecessor. The band members are still musically active but no further releases have been forthcoming - the links to new tracks on their website are dead.
Like so much of the music I loved then, I thought it a crime that bands like The Metronomes flew so far under most people's radar. Synthesizers were fast becoming the new guitars but, with few exceptions, only the most commercial acts broke through and shifted enough units to make a good living from the business. Most of my favourite artists were fated to languish in obscurity or achieve limited cult 'success', get stitched into dodgy record deals, release a couple of albums that were largely ignored, and sooner rather than later, find something else to do. Thirty years on, it's amazing to see so many of them reunited and back on the 'scene', often enjoying hindsight reputations they never achieved first time around.
The Metronomes: Multiple Choice, Cleopatra Records CLP 210.
01. A Living Person
02. Sex I
03. The Ballad of the Metronome
04. Commentator
05. The World Is My Oyster
06. Music For Lounges
07. Sex II
08. Hey Coach
09. Justification
10. Bad Timing
Main personnel:
Ash Wednesday - rhythm programs, synthesizer, random syncussion, treatments, some lead vocals
Andrew Picouleau - bass guitar, synthesizer, random syncussion, Milo tin, some lead vocals
Al Webb - rhythm programs, synthesizer, guitar, random syncussion, backwards hurdy gurdy, some lead vocals
Let's face it, in 1980 those were credits to make any electronic music fan drool.
I'm indebted to excellent blog Capa Nostra Syndicate for the album download link: Capa Nostra Syndicate: Multiple Choice mp3 download
For further info about The Metronomes, go to the band's website, Ash Wednesday's website and Andrew Picouleau's biog.
From Multiple Choice, here's Justification:
And finally, the rare and wonderful single A Circuit Like Me.
