UTOPIA

Yikes! Another fine band lost in the clutches of the abyssmal 80's. Pneumatic drums, polyester guitars, casio keys and chipmunk voices - this release has it all. A few tunes, "Hammer In My Heart" and "Princess of the Universe" were somewhat redeemed on "Utopia Redux" some ten years later, but here they are worse than forgettable, they're memorably bad. The real mystery however, and what makes this so inexcusable, is that Utopia released the excellent "Swing to the Right" in the same year. Apparently, finding an angry and passionate muse , Todd put all his energy into "Swing to the Right." Then, ironically, he played it conservative on this one.