I Against I
Artist: Bad Brains
Community Score: 8.25
Mystery Walk
Artist: Martha & the Muffins
Community Score: 6.00

Stripped down to just Martha Johnson and Mark Gane, and assorted studio musicians, M + M worked closely with producer Daniel Lanois for the third time. And, once again, it was a very successful combination. Incorporating more funk and dance sound, perhaps due to being partially recorded in New York City, M + M continue their growth and expand... Read More

White Feathers
Artist: Kajagoogoo

"Too Shy" was one of the flimsiest singles of the new wave era, a cloying and catchy bubblegum tune disguised as synth-pop. Kajagoogoo never quite matched those heights again -- in fact, they rarely even came close. Their debut album White Feathers is filled with similarly lightweight synth-pop like "Magician Man," "Ooh to Be Ah," "Eronomics,"... Read More

The Colour of Spring
Artist: Talk Talk
Community Score: 8.62

With It's My Life, Talk Talk proved that they could pull off an entire album of strong material. With The Colour of Spring, they took it one step further, moving to a near-concept song cycle, following the emotional ups and downs of relationships and pondering life in general. Musically, they built on the experimental direction of the previous... Read More

It's My Life
Artist: Talk Talk
Community Score: 7.50

After an unremarkable debut, Talk Talk regrouped and refashioned themselves more in the style of sophisto-era Roxy Music while developing their own voice. It's My Life shows a great leap in songwriting, the band making highly personal statements with a sexy, seductive groove and a diversity that transcends the synth pop tag. Synthesizers still... Read More

Crush
Artist: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Community Score: 9.00

Following through on the pop inclinations of Junk Culture, OMD recorded a full-fledged mainstream pop album with Crush. Considerably calmer and more accessible than their previous records, the album may be less adventurous than their earlier work, but the breezy melodic charm of dance-pop singles like "So In Love" make Crush a thoroughly winning... Read More

All the Rage
Artist: General Public

First out of the gate with a new band after the English Beat's acrimonious fracture in June 1983, General Public was the first post-punk supergroup, gathering the Beat's Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger, the Specials' Horace Panter, and other veterans of the U.K. ska revival. (Mick Jones, freshly booted from the Clash, was originally announced as... Read More

The Best of A Flock of Seagulls - JIVE
Artist: A Flock of Seagulls

Liverpool's A Flock of Seagulls are best remembered for lead singer Mike Score's hair (and their number ten hit "I Ran [So Far Away]"). The quartet actually scored three lesser hits aside from that archetypal '80s smash. The kinetic "A Space Age Love Song"; the cascading, multi-layered "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)"; and the sweeping... Read More

Virgins and Philistines
Artist: The Colourfield

When it was initially released in the mid-'80s, the Colourfield's Virgins and Philistines had little in common with most of the albums recorded during that decade. The passing of years has only strengthened the LP's timeless appeal. Plucking sounds from the late '60s and early '70s, the Colourfield created an album that will never be dated... Read More

Who's Got the 10½?
Artist: Black Flag

Black Flag's second live album, recorded at a 1985 Portland show with the Kira/Anthony Martinez rhythm section, is about what you'd expect the late period of the band to sound like live. A couple of older songs crop up -- "Slip It In" and "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie" are transformed into a great 15-minute medley with Henry Rollins getting in some... Read More

The Collection 1973-1984 - CONCEPT
Artist: Split Enz

The Split Enz Collection is a two-LP package which focuses mainly on the hit singles, but also offers the majority of the band's better-known album tracks. While it's a nice collection, with brief liner notes, rare photos, and a basic discography, it has since been surpassed by better and more readily available collections. The album was on the... Read More