BRIGHTER NOW

It is debatable whether this was the legendary Pink Dots debut album, or whether "Only dreaming", released a year earlier, should bear that accolade. "Only dreaming" was initially a cassette only album limited to ten (yes ten) copies all with different sleeves. There have been several re-releases since, but each has had a very restricted production run, although the tracks have become available on other compilations.

The 1982 album "Brighter now" was also a limited print cassette only release to begin with, but has since appeared in LP and CD format. As such, it is considered by many to be the band's first commercially available album.

Formed in 1980, the band also tested the water with a number of other cassette only releases before recording this album which surfaced in 1982. Initial releases of this album had just six tracks, but the much more widely available CD on which this review is based has nine tracks in total.

There is a naivety to the music here which makes it endearing if not captivating. There are suggestions of Barrett era Pink Floyd (especially on the opening "Red castles" and on "Apocalypse Then"), the early Moody Blues, and even dare I say the 1960's Bee Gees. The songs are essentially pop based, but their arrangements make them more interesting than they might otherwise be. "Louder after 6" for example has a diverting instrumental sound and imaginative vocal styles. At times the music is pared right back, "The wedding" being a simple piano and vocal soliloquy with a piano melody which sounds quasi-classical.

The most obvious aspect of this album is the rudimentary nature of the songwriting skills. The songs are as a rule decidedly average, and are only saved by the pleasant nature of their overall sound. This is not an album which will stand up to repeated listening. Its main function therefore is to introduce us to a band who may not have become legendary but who certainly released a great number of albums.