IT'S MY LIFE

Talk Talk's second album is good but ultimately forgettable eighties fare, the songs usually starting out good but being brought down by lots of flashy choruses. Dum Dum Girl is possibly the best example of this to start, with some great slightly atmospheric verses but collapsing when it gets to the "stealing pennies from the poor" over-melodic chorus. The backing vocals seriously hurt this album, as the second track, Such a Shame, has a very good chorus riiight until those backing vocals come in. The only two songs to fully escape this are the atmospheric, spacey Renee and It's My Life. The title track is one of my favorites of eighties synthpop, by far the best here even if everything they made after this album is better. After the similarly atmospheric Tomorrow Started, the album starts weakening with some forgettable tracks like Call in the Night Boy. The last one here that isn't filler is Does Caroline Know?, my third favorite behind Renee and the title track. So, yeah, if you like Duran Duran you'll love this, and if you don't you're either going to find it okay or end up whining about how it doesn't match the spiritual depth of Laughing Stock.