In punk’s immediate aftermath, bands went in two directions: statically regurgitating Oi!-some riffery and rapidly going backwards, or adopting an anything-is-possible attitude and looking into the future. Either way, success was far from guaranteed and, in the case of Five Or Six, their two albums, A Thriving & Happy Land and Play Me That Song That Goes Yeah Yeah Yeah, weren’t even released in the UK.
It’s a shame, as there’s personality and ideas enough here to reference both Wire and Can, as well as a kind of prototype Pet Shop Boys (Sleepwalk, for example). The fact that they were together for only three years is reassuring, because tracks of the taut, Bunnymen-meets-New Order type, such as Polar Exposure, remain unsullied by any dodgy mid-80s aberrations. Eventually, Another Reason inadvertently brought Five Or Six some fame after winning a court case against Death In Vegas and their suspiciously-similar Dirge, although by that point the world had moved on.
This release comes with a fold-out poster-sized biography tracing the band’s history and, without spoiling the surprise too much, we can reveal that your telly guides would be rather different without some of the ex-members, which is perhaps the most punk statement of all.
