💥 Extraordinary, fantastic music which always turns me on is the sound of the Upright Citizens from Bottrop (in the north-west of the Ruhr area), founded 1979, but it wasn't until 1982 that they started to attract attention - and they differed from many other German bands of those years through their (almost entirely) English lyrics and their clear orientation towards American hardcore. This was evident with their debut Make The Future Mine & Yours, which was released in 1983 and also made the band known internationally (Jello Biafra had noticed the band early on). Two songs securing them a spot on the legendary Keine Experimente! compilation on Weird System (1983), in 1984 they were featured on the We Don't Want Your Fucking Law slab on Mortarhate and on the hugely influential Peace/War double album on R-Radical Records, the label of Dave Dictor of MDC. So it happened, very unusual for a German band, that their second album Open Eyes, Open Ears, Brains To Think & A Mouth To Speak has been published in the USA via B.Y.O., the label operated by the Stern Brothers (Youth Brigade). With the Kiss Me Now (1986) and Farewell EP (1988) followed two more records of the "classic" side of the band, which had a few other releases until the mid-nineties and also played live - but the air was out, and in 2003 the band played their last concert, and a reunion, so the clear announcement, is ruled out. Well, this mini-album sounds a bit different from the previous records and is sometimes a bit too metallic for my taste, but I still like it and after hearing it several times, it penetrates well; they have long since earned this bonus from me. A fit short review: "Despite the uninspiring cover art and the Led Zeppelin-like intro to the title song, this new release has all the bands trademarks: tight, imaginative instrumental arrangements, plaintive lead vocals, memorable hooks, and generally on-target lyrics." (Jeff Bale, MMR #44, January 1987) - Always a pleasure the four, and I love Fridays 💥
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