LAUGHING STOCK

I was surprised to see this band on Prog Archives since I was only familiar with them as a pop band from the 80s, similar to Thompson Twins, The The, and all those other T-T bands of the era. It is always good to see a band (or the artist who dominates it) evolve over time. That said, I am not thrilled with the results, although it may seem otherwise on the surface. The album features good production values, interesting arrangements, and non-traditional structures. Still, where the songs are not dull and dreary they are cacophonic and noisy, with little in between that catches my interests. The drums in particular are grating to my ears. If I found the songs themselves more appealing I could overlook a lot of the problems here, but truth is I do not. The songs are long, drawn out, and go nowhere. On the plus side, this recording seems to be one of the forerunners of Post/Math Rock, which demonstrates they were doing something original. It is just not something I enjoy listening to and I am happy to pass this one on to someone who would be more appreciative.