This is one album I return to yearly, for the simple reason it's like a comfort blanket or an oasis of refuge. I would have first heard this album when released in March 1984 and still remember how I had to search record stores for it in Dublin. Even asking for it by name gave quizzical looks from most music store shop assistants. But on a wet Wednesday afternoon I found a copy and so began what has been a very long term relationship. I had initially heard the track 'Cruel' and was smitten by their sound. But the album really has its charms which I know the lead singer and writer of the songs Paddy McAloon has dismissed as a folly of youth. This was also the year that Prefab Sprout played Dublin and being underage I wasn't allowed to go to the gig. Something that still smarts to this day... I should get over that I know!
I find it hard to believe how easy it is now to acquire/access music, when 20 years ago it took serious commitment to find albums on independent labels such as Kitchenware, who released this album. When reading NME or Sounds the music bibles of the time, lists would be made of albums that sounded interesting from the reviews alone. As there was little chance of hearing them on Irish radio and tuning into John Peel was a hit and miss affair on most radio's (I got the best reception for BBC Radio One in my Dad's car). So you can imagine a teenager sitting in a car to listen to radio on a cold and wet evening just on the off chance some music would be played that would illuminate his life, and it usually did.
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