I don't think I've ever read a bad review of this nearly unlistenable record, which was also a landmark of the "no wave" scene. I found it startlingly similar to weirdo freaky-funk Brit groups from around the same era as The Pop Group and Rip, Rig, and Panic, just more aggressive. But unless you really like that stuff, tread lightly.

The follow-up wasn't nearly as risk-taking and has more of a ramshackle character, in comparison, but overall, comes off like a decent companion to a show-stopping debut. Usually, it comes packaged with the debut as a 2-fer with a couple of interesting bonus tracks tacked on at the end.

Even amongst the oddities of the UK trad folk and prog rock scenes from the early 70s, you have to go a really long way to begin to replicate Carmen's far-out blend of ethereal prog rock and flamenco music. In the very least, you are going to love or hate this, and it's a crime to even attempt to describe the music on their debut record. If you have any prejudice towards the prog genre, then don't bother, but I unabashedly adore the constant thrill-a-minute, take-every-chance mindset here. Great album.

They got in another record after this one, but you can file them in with other fringe punk one-offs like The Rich Kids. But this one-off was more in a power-pop/Buzzcocks vein. Just check the title if you need a reminder. And there was like, a ton of really good songs on this platter, which reminded me of that point over and over again. Fun record.

Difficult to think of anything more modern-sounding than Pere Ubu's Modern Dance from 1978. Actually, they put out two really crazy records in the same year, but let's concentrate on this one. And many of the songs on the record were from the preceding two years. I mean, if you can call them songs. They're more like the machinations of some randomized creature that grunts semi-melodically every so often. Bands made this kind of music like ten years later and still their sound did not make as much sense as it did on this record. Somehow. Obviously, some of this music misses the mark, but tracks like "Real World", "Street Waves", and yes, "Sentimental Journey", really hammer the point home. This was the near future and it was pretty bleak sounding. Gloriously so, I would say.