Happy Families

Teamed with Rick Kemp, Prior turns in her best non-Steeleye Span folk-rock performance, with heavy amplification, crisp electric guitars, and accordion for support. Her airy vocals and the heavy electric sound make this a superb adjunct to the best rock sides by Steeleye (Commoner's Crown, etc.), although this stuff has more of a contemporary feel, relating to Prior's Steeleye Span work roughly the way Dylan's best '70s and '80s stuff relates to his '60s folk and folk-rock sides, with a definite rock beat and pop music feel. There's also a strong social consciousness at work, with topical songs dealing with unemployment and privation amid love songs and a very playful cover of "Who's Sorry Now". (Bruce Eder, AMG)

Blancmange's first album, 1982's Happy Families, yielded the minor radio hit "Living on the Ceiling," which also received a good deal of attention from early MTV. Though Happy Families can accurately be described as techno-pop, it's techno-pop with a modicum of taste and sophistication, putting it more in the ballpark of genre pioneers like OMD and Yazoo than of annoying '80s anachronisms like Kajagoogoo or EBN-OZN. Neil Arthur's lyrics are interesting enough to reward close listening, and his Bowie-esque voice, while somewhat limited, serves the material well. The sound of Happy Families is built largely around synthesizers, played by Arthur and partner Stephen Luscombe. The duo have a knack for catchy basslines and drum programming, on top of which they strategically deploy guitars, Eastern instrumentation, and female backing vocals…

Blancmange's first album, 1982's Happy Families, yielded the minor radio hit "Living on the Ceiling," which also received a good deal of attention from early MTV. Though Happy Families can accurately be described as techno-pop, it's techno-pop with a modicum of taste and sophistication, putting it more in the ballpark of genre pioneers like OMD and Yazoo than of annoying '80s anachronisms like Kajagoogoo or EBN-OZN. Neil Arthur's lyrics are interesting enough to reward close listening, and his Bowie-esque voice, while somewhat limited, serves the material well. The sound of Happy Families is built largely around synthesizers, played by Arthur and partner Stephen Luscombe. The duo have a knack for catchy basslines and drum programming, on top of which they strategically deploy guitars, Eastern instrumentation, and female backing vocals…

Blancmange's first album, 1982's Happy Families, yielded the minor radio hit "Living on the Ceiling," which also received a good deal of attention from early MTV. Though Happy Families can accurately be described as techno-pop, it's techno-pop with a modicum of taste and sophistication, putting it more in the ballpark of genre pioneers like OMD and Yazoo than of annoying '80s anachronisms like Kajagoogoo or EBN-OZN. Neil Arthur's lyrics are interesting enough to reward close listening, and his Bowie-esque voice, while somewhat limited, serves the material well. The sound of Happy Families is built largely around synthesizers, played by Arthur and partner Stephen Luscombe. The duo have a knack for catchy basslines and drum programming, on top of which they strategically deploy guitars, Eastern instrumentation, and female backing vocals…