The face of fashion

Chris Knox - Seizure (1989) ****

Nominated by: Kevy

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition:  And I Will Cry

Can you judge a record by its cover? #679,

Chris has gone for a look that embellishes the title - Seizure. Rather than taking something away from someone, he's more alluding to a sudden attack - especially a stroke or an epileptic fit. It's not a pleasant experience. Something Chris has intimate experience of, having suffered a stroke in 2009 and he's been an epileptic throughout his life. 

The cover is all fractured lettering/typography, disturbing image, yellow and black and shards of white. Again - not a pleasant image.

So, all up - when the needle hits the black circle I'm not expecting soothing ambient piano music a la George Winston or soft rock like The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac.

I've always had a soft spot for Chris Knox, even though I've never bought much of his catalogue - just a Toy Love single and of course, Not Given Lightly is a stone-cold classic on various compilations of NZ's greatest songs. No Tall Dwarfs, no solo albums - I've just checked and he's had 10 solo albums from 1981 until 2008. That stroke has obviously affected his output.

So, to Seizure. It's pretty much what the cover and title prepare you for - jagged edges of heavily distorted guitar, rough tribal sounding beats, cheaply processed vocals - everything lo-fi to the max. And it's great! 

Lo-fi aesthetics means it sounds fine in a car, on a phone, or on the music room stereo.

You certainly don't want to listen to this album if you have a headache or you are experiencing a bright sunny happy day, but otherwise if you are brave enough - it's great.

Really great. Not Given Lightly is very much the outlier on the album - sonically as well as musically, it sounds like it belongs on a single, distinct and separated from the album.

It's such an ear worm of a song. Maybe it's the repeated hearings over the years but it's the only song on the album I remember as I'm brushing my teeth, ironing a shirt, driving the car...

Musically, the other songs reminded me of heaps of punk bands, many of which were inspirational to Chris Knox, I'm sure. 

I heard echoes of The Butthole Surfers and surf punk; British bands like The Buzzcocks; American punk bands like The Dead Kennedys, Nirvana (Bleach is also from 1989), and especially Wall Of Voodoo. I also heard metal influences like early Anthrax, Slayer and Napalm Death (Scum came out in 1987 - yellow, black and white are also used on that cover).

Chris seems to throw all of these influences in a blender and emerges with Seizure.

As I listened, I did wonder how many of those influences Kev would listen to as a matter of choice.

Favourite song: And I will Cry

Least favourite song: Uncle Tom's Cabin - doesn't work for me at all. By listen three I skipped it.

Thanks Kevy - your bravery is rewarded! Almost a five star one for me (had to deduct a point for Uncle Tom's Cabin).

Right - now to read GK's impressions and see how much we agree.