Excellent post-punk album (A Trip To Marineville - Swell Maps)

Member Name: dangaroo

Product:	A Trip To Marineville - Swell Maps
Date:	13/12/08 (12 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good Krautrock influenced New Wave

Disadvantages: Some short and silly tracks

A Trip to Marineville is the Swell Maps debut album released back in 1979, the album is hit and miss but there is underlying geniusness! Whilst they didn't really make a big impact when it comes to commercial success, they made some pretty cool songs and had inspired future generations of bands - Sonic Youth for instance.

The Swell Maps have slightly muffled tracks on this album which aren't particularly well produced but this is punk and I don't think it needs to be too refined.

The drum rolls are there, the guitar playing is sound and the vocalist uses a mixture of Johnny Rotten's voice and Sylvain Sylvain, whilst being as good as neither - at least he has good taste! Whilst tracks like Spitfire Parade and Vertical Slum may show the band in a fast Sex Pistols like style of punk or even pre-punk, plenty of other tracks show a more artistic, alternative side to them more similar to Wire or PIL - Harmony in Your Bathroom, Gunboats and Blam!!! are good examples of this particular style.

A downside is that they have a few experimental tracks that are just a bit too short and don't really materialise - laughter and the like - tracks like Turn Me on Dead Man or Shoot The Angels but despite a few let downs The Swell Maps intrigue me and I'm definitely intending to check out their later LP Jane from Occupied Europe.

Summary: Well worth a listen