Joseph K
As a lifelong lover of music, I can trace many of the roots of my musical influences back to the sleeve notes of 1987's Minutemen compilation Ballot Result. The liner notes contained a long list of thank you's to the bands that had inspired D. Boon and Mike Watt, including bands like Wire, Television, Richard ('Dick') Hell, Pop Group and so on - as well as non-punkers like John Fogerty and 'even' Black Sabbath.
If their career hadn't had the aborted start that it received, Joseph K may well have featured on that list and I could well have become a lifelong fan of their work. Formed in Edinburgh in the late 70's, Joseph K started their own imprint label, "Postcard", and set about recording a debut single - released as a double pack with fellow Scots 'Orange Juice'. The band went on to record an album's worth of material (entitled Sorry For Laughing), which was subsequently canned for sounding too polished. An actual album The Only Fun In Town emerged a few months later, at which point the band decided it had peaked and disbanded.
The band can be placed this side of Wire, with the sound evolving to file down the sharp edged punk of and take it off down the gentle slope towards the mid-eighties sound that would become the 'indie' scene - and in fact guitarist Malcolm Ross ended up in fellow scots band Aztec Camera.
Single Radio Drill Time start opens this compilation - which contains a handful of tracks from both albums, plus a few singles and a Peel Session. Radio Drill Time is a taught, dark minimalist punk number, with a thumping bass line that sets the pace. Final Request and Heads Watch have a fast paced edge that shows the bands New York influence of bands like Talking Heads, and tracks like Endless Soul have the distinct political British sound that would be so influential on later punkers like the Minutemen and Dinosaur Jr.
Some of aborted album does sound relatively slick next to the more abrasive later tracks, with synthy pop touches placing the tracks in a more specific time frame - but that's no bad thing. The actual track Sorry For Laughing did make the cut for release as a single and is the highlight of the disc - a perfect slice of pop-punk, reminiscent of some of some of Magazine's best moments.
Tracks from The Only Fun In Town strip the sound back to it's more basic elements, making for a more immediate punch that would send the mosh pit crazy. Fun 'n' Frenzy and Forever Drone are obvious examples - and that strong sound is continued through onto the 1981 Peel Sessions. The only comment would be that the band seem to stay in the same space (high tempo, with crisp guitars) most of the time, but if you're going to pick a spot and stay there it's as good as any.
'Nearly everyone ignored Joseph K, including ultimately themselves' reads the press release. A press release from Domino Records, who have rightly dusted off this mislaid treasure of a band and brought them back into the field of view. Hopefully it will get them some of the credit they deserve.