Four more of my favorite 80s new wave/synthpop albums. Please help seeding them. By the way tune in to more of these series for the coming long weekend!




The Expression - The Expression [1984]

A wonderful debut album by an Australian band, that unfortunately didn't have the luck to gather in its well deserved success. Band members were Tom Haran, Neville Dowling, Andrew Wong Yen, and Stephen Manassah. "Present Communication", "With Closed Eyes", "Total Eclipse", "Keep Appointments", "Dawn, Day and Sleep", "Nothing Changes" and "Satisfied Strangers" were the melodic highlights, full of romanticism, crowned by the longing voice of lead singer and main writer Tom Haran.

The singles "With Closed Eyes" and "Total Eclipse" should have been worldwide hits, but ...  

01 Present Communication  
02 With Closed Eyes  
03 Dawn, Day And Sleep  
04 Total Eclipse  
05 Keep Appointments  
06 Right To A Slice  
07 Decisions  
08 You And Me  
09 About Tomorrow  
10 Satisfied Strangers  
11 More Like A Feeling Than A Taste  
12 Round And Round 
13 Nothing Changes
14 Three Four Day 


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I Start Counting - My Translucent Hands [1986]

Pop experimentalists I Start Counting favored English artiness with a sense of fun. Unlike many other electronic groups from the '80s, I Start Counting never settled into a single formula; the band continued to tinker with its sound, shifting effortlessly from light to dark, accessible to avant-garde. I Start Counting was formed in the early '80s by David Baker and Simon Leonard. In 1984, the duo was signed by Mute and released its debut single, the quirky "Letters to a Friend." "Letters to a Friend" easily distinguished itself from the glut of synthesizer-laden records from the mid-'80s with Baker's distinctly British talk-sing style and the psychedelic feel of the keyboards. The follow-up, 1985's "Still Smiling," was hailed as another instant classic from the band. Writing and recording songs from their basement, Baker and Leonard finally released an LP, My Translucent Hands, a year later. I Start Counting gained a significant cult following in the U.K. and the U.S., especially among American suburban teens who were discovering Depeche Mode and Kraftwerk in dance clubs.


01 Introduction   
02 My Translucent Hands   
03 Catch That Look   
04 You and I   
05 Lose Him Baker, Leonard   
06 Keep the Sun Away   
07 Cranley Gardens   
08 Which Way Is Home   
09 Letters to a Friend   
10 Still Smiling   
11 Small Consolation   
12 (There Is Always the) Unexpected


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Nine Ways to Win - Self-titled [1983]

Nine Ways to Win  was a UK new wave band that released only one LP. The band members were Steve Creese (Percussion), Raul d'Oliveira (Trumpet), Stuart Gordon (Violin), Steve Lovell (Guitar), Ronald MacDonald (Saxophone), David Rhodes (Guitar), Nine Ways to Win (Main Performer), Martyn Swain (Bass), Peter Acock (Saxophone), Georgia II (Vocals (Background)), Johnathan Hughston (Vocals), Pete Thomas (Saxophone), David Ferguson (Keyboards). Close to You and Painting over Cracks are the highlights though I love the whole LP.
  
01 Close to You
02 Painting over Cracks
03 Second Cross on the Hill
04 Ashes and Diamonds
05 Breaking Bread
06 Lights All over the World
07 Waltz
08 All Sit Down
09 High-Wire
10 Time for Keys	 		 	 
	 	

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------	 	 

Wa Wa Nee - Self-titled [1986]

Led by the songwriting team of Paul Gray and Steve Williams, the band signed with CBS Records in 1985. Wa Wa Nee had four singles in the Australian top 40 from their debut album release of the same name. They included "Stimulation" which reached number 2 nationally in Australia in 1986, "I Could Make You Love Me", reaching the top 10 in the same year, and both "One And One (Ain't I Good Enough)" and "Sugar Free" making the top 40. The latter also reached the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 top 30, although this was their only success there.
The band's self titled debut album went platinum in Australia.


01 One And One (Ain't I Good Enough) 
02 Teacher 
03 Stimulation 
04 Jelly Baby 
05 Gone 
06 Sugar Free 
07 When The World Is A Home 
08 Man Child 
09 Love Reaction 
10 I Could Make You Love Me