Magazine

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   Magazine were one of the first and best post-punk bands (along with Wire who I may give a thread to later.) Their first three albums are all highly recommended (the fourth and final was a bit weak) but it is their debut, Real Life, that is their crowning achievement. It's frequently on best album of all time lists, but its appeal and fame seems to be within the industry- Radiohead are huge fans for example- and they never really seemed to reach the ears of the masses.
Emerging when Howard Devoto left British punk legends The Buzzcocks because he found their style too limiting, Magazine emerged in 1978 as an already fiercely accomplished band on Real Life. Devotos intentionally ugly vocals, more sneered than sung, turn off some people but it's all part of the atmosphere. And what an atmosphere. They helped found the entire gloom rock scene that runs from Joy Division and The Cure to Interpol and The National. They use expert production and excellent musicianship together with fine song craft to make expansive tracks of frosty paranoia. If you like sinister music, they are unmissable.
Here are four tracks from Real Life. I may review their discog fully here later but in the meantime I really hope you give these songs a spin and give Magazine a try as I think they deserve a place in history they don't currently have.
If you like these songs, buy the album if you can because it's all good, no weak tracks on it.

Definitive Gaze- Listen to at least a minute. I love the production here and what they do with the keyboard.
Shot By Both Sides- The closest thing they had to a hit single. Brilliant intro.
Motorcade- Perhaps the most representative Magazine song. Chilly, icey, ominous, executed and conceived well.
The Light Pours Out Of Me- My favourite Magazine song. The drum beat, the bass line, the guitar riff, the chorus, the middle eight, all hit the spot fantastically.