SORT OF... SLAPP HAPPY

Produced long before Slapp Happy crossed paths with Henry Cow to make thorny, avant-garde RIO material, their debut album Sort Of is still interesting as a brace of delightful art-pop tracks. Taking an eccentric approach to the sort of jangle pop singer-songwriter material in vogue at the time, and mixing up the lead vocals between Dagmar Krause, Peter Blegvad and Anthony Moore to avoid one contributor being inadvertently seen as the band leader, it's a delightful bit of subversive pop. RIO fans expecting something along the lines of In Praise of Learning may find themselves disappointed - gosh, they're even trying to sound accessible and enjoyable! - but most listeners approaching with an open mind may find there's hidden depths here.