Chronicling the new wave to the new beat, this latest instalment in the Bustin’ Out series details some of the music sprayed into your ears in 1984, by which point, the likes of Cabaret Voltaire had fully matured. Factoring together whispered vocals, sequenced rhythms and reduced musical clutter, their Sensoria is a prime questing exploration and still evidences one of the most important bands of the era.
Section 25’s Looking From A Hilltop is well-known for being one of the first Factory outings outside of New Order to make a dent in American dance culture. Saying that, Severed Heads’ Dead Eyes Opened is equally glorious, though we’d prefer a version with no early narrative vocals – which just date the track. The pivotal Front 242’s Commando Mix retains its pleasurable shock (they were also the first band that we recall listing the BPM of each track on an LP), while Skinny Puppy were alongside Meat Beat Manifesto in bringing dance to industrial depth. Ann Clark’s Our Darkness and Jesse Saunders’ On And On retain their freshness, framing early house beats and tempos, while Sherwood’s The Dub Syndicate just grooves to perfection.
