I’ve heard Talk Talk described as intelligent pop. I haven’t got a clue what that means. All I know is that they wrote great records and Mark Hollis was a genius. They were lumped in with the New Romantic movement at the time, and most rock fans would have passed them by due to that. It wasn’t cool to like pop bands if you were a metal head. It’s definitely synth-pop for sure, but they are very clever songs with great arrangements. Hollis has a very distinctive tone to his voice and is unmistakable. There is a lot of experimenting with tones and sounds on the record, and the band would pursue these later on subsequent releases as they left the pop behind and were going into a post rock direction.
Dum Dum Girl was the third single from the album, and opens up the record. A very clever synth-pop record with great lyrics. Such A Shame and Renee are up next, and are very eighties sounding and slow paced, but again the vocals and melody reign supreme here. Last song on this side was the lead off single, It’s My Life, and is the track that everyone will be familiar with. It is a great tune with a big hook and chorus that Hollis sings perfectly. Great tune!
Flipping over to Side 2 with Tomorrow Started – a very melancholic song with mix of electronic and acoustic instruments. Compared to other bands at the time, they were way ahead in terms of how they used synths and programming. The Last Time is quite an upbeat song compared to the rest of the album, and Hollis’ vocals do remind me of Brian Ferry – especially on this track. It’s noticeable that all of the singles were from Side 1, and Side 2 is a lot more about the album than the quick hit. Calling The Night Boy reminds me of It Bites, especially in the chorus – another great song. Does Caroline Know is synth-pop-funk, and a departure from the rest of the album. Album closer, It’s You, has a very Japan feel to it and is a nod to the future with subsequent releases.
A great album. Not my favourite, as that would be Spirit Of Eden, which would come later. A really good example of synth-pop of the time.
7.5/10 from The Grooveman.
