X1 The Royal Navy's Mystery Submarine

Mike Keane's first album in the Royal Family & the Poor guise was done only after plenty of ups and downs in Keane's own life as well as numerous personnel shifts and incarnations, but the end results were a sometimes delicate and often enthralling combination. It's actually a combination of several different sessions, though most were overseen by Peter Hook of New Order as producer, while the backing lineup of violinist John Neesham and synth player Lita Hira resulted in a distinct, not-rock-as-such sound. The album does very much reflect its time and place throughout. While it would be pushing it a touch to say it sounds exactly like a Factory record of the time "should," the combination of electronic drums, reverbed vocals, and aural mystery on songs like "Radio Egypt" and the particularly fine "The Dawn Song" is both familiar and slightly tweaked.