Excessively edgy
IRate | 10/30/2008
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Avant-garde neo-punk group, akin to Television meets The Ex meets bad acid, are the type that pushes the weird side at the expense of the writing. With their deconstructionist slant and production schizophrenia we are left with little substance and an overriding desperation at sounding different, which is a shame because it seems that with a little more focus this band could have really meant something, hinted at with rare bursts of effectively unnerving, anti-melodic chemistry amidst so much narcissistic clutter."
Very good!
Lovblad | Geneva, Switzerland | 08/16/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Pop Group have managed somehow to produce an album of post-puk experimental music that is quite listenable while at the same time very extreme and adventurous. Mark Stewart's singing was the same as it would be over the years, with him screaming and ranting. The paying is actually quite good if you consider music like this, and it is the use of many dub influences that sets this recording apart from much of their contemporaries. The members of TPG were actually able to some degree to convey a sense of musicianship rare in those days. This edition is very pricey though but I do not regret bying it at all."
An album totally unlike anything else.
R. Ballard | Iowa, USA | 10/31/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is an album that could easily be the soundtrack to an insane asylum. And that's a compliment. It's at turns dark, manic, creepy, funky, thought-provoking and even downright scary. But always fascinating.
It's also one of the single greatest alternative rock records I've ever heard.
It's an album so radical, it's impossible to describe exactly what it's like to listen to. The first cut, "She Is Beyond Good And Evil" is as close to accessible as this album gets. From there it takes a sharp left turn into the world of weird. Vocalist Mark Stewart groans, wails, grunts, and sputters with such manic conviction that you wonder if the man is playing with a full deck. In addition to the stunning musical inventiveness on display, the recording itself is a just as important piece of the final work of art. The effects are instruments unto themselves, frequently spinning the sound of the instruments into twisted, otherworldly sounds never heard on record. The musical elements draw from punk, reggae, jazz, disco, and ancient forms of music to form an album that's as unsettling and strange as it's cover art.
If you're a musical thrillseeker with an open mind and a taste for the esoteric... If the staples in your musical diet include The Minutemen, Pere Ubu, Gang Of Four, Nick Cave, and some avant-garde jazz, miss this one at your peril."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1