Aural Sculpture 1984 Album

The Stranglers

Now this is relaxing. Almost too much so. Who would have thought what was once possibly Britain’s most unruly band to come out of the punk scene would now be the one most likely to cure your insomnia? Hugh Cornwell is now crooning to the high heavens asking you to “let him down easy” while there are fake-sounding horns blaring in the background like it's a Rod Stewart video or something. The musicians sound cheaper than ever before, and the strange thing is, on quite a few tracks here, you can’t help but tap your feet to some of these ditties. Ah, these Stranglers – they have a funny way of getting into your psyche like few other bands! “Skin Deep” is by far the best of the best – a somnambulant, yet cunning journey through synthesized sounds that is somewhat close to “Golden Brown”, at least in the vanity department.But I cannot get past one overriding factor – this is the most exquisitely recorded slice of boredom I have ever heard in my life.