Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

The self-titled debut album from the British mainstream band that had previously had a ministry band incarnation as Fish Co, Writz were fronted by Steve Fairnie, Steve Rowles and Bev Sage, and performed the infectiously catchy songs of Fairnie and Sage to fine effect. As a post-punk outfit, they incorporated a huge amount of glamour and their performances were always interesting and creative. (check out YouTube for rare footage of the band and see what I mean!). This is definitely art school new wave and on the evidence of these recordings from 1979, the band deserved to be huge. Standouts include the funky observation of the bright London media set on "Swinging With The Reptiles" and what should have been a hit single, "Night Nurse". The band knew how to have a bit of fun and yet makes some serious points. The anti-fascist satire "Muscle Culture" is a mighty closer whilst more upbeat songs like "Super Heroes", "Luxury" and "Private Lives" are never the new wave fluff they appear to be at first sight. With a sound that was both contemporary and futuristic, the album has weathered the intervening 30 years pretty well. Worth hunting around on the internet to get your copy!

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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