One of the classic albums of the early '80s by a band that doesn't get the love it should,
the Monochrome Set
's
Eligible Bachelors
from 1982 is a tour de force of wit and musical imagination. This was their first album for their new label,
Cherry Red
, and they certainly made the most of their opportunity. Songwriter and vocalist
Bid
turned in a set of witty, urbane, and hooky tunes that fulfilled the promise of the quartet's earlier recordings, guitarist
Lester Square
showed himself to be a master off catchy riffs and perfect fills, and the rhythm section of bassist
Andy Warren
and drummer
Lexington Crane
kept things light and swinging. Bustling through 11 songs so sharp and intelligent that it's easy to listen to the album multiple times without getting bored, the band and
are at the absolute top of their game, a game that others like
Haircut 100
and
Orange Juice
were also playing.
The Set
and their ilk merged jangling guitars, jazz-influenced chord changes, painfully arch lyrics, deadpan vocals, and jumpy rhythms into something shiny and fun, quite often with a dark undercurrent.
is certainly the equal of
Pelican West
or
Rip It Up
; the surplus of songs that sounded like hit singles everyone forgot to buy ("Fun for All the Family," "I'll Scry Instead"), trenchant bits of social commentary set to a jittering dance beat ("The Jet Set Junta," "The Ruling Class"), and pretty pop tunes ("Cloud 10") see to that. Unlike those albums, it didn't catch fire with the general public, and left
the Set
pondering just what they had to do to break through. If creating their masterpiece couldn't get the job done, what was left for them to do? Luckily for fans of
and his band, they didn't give up, but even if they had,
would stand up as a definitive work of the post-punk/new wave era. [Though the album had been reissued a few times in the intervening years, it wasn't until 2018 that
gave
the expanded reissue treatment it deserved. Along with remastered sound and a nice booklet, the album is expanded to three discs. Along with the album proper, the first disc adds 15 singles released between 1978 and 1983, including the one song that actually became something of a hit in 1979, "He's Frank (Slight Return)." Disc two includes a treasure trove of radio sessions; a snappy demo for "The Ruling Class"; and a batch of fun rarities. All the rarities had been released previously in different places, but it's good to have them together under one roof. The final disc comprises
Fin
, the live album released by
in 1986 featuring recordings made at various venues between 1979 and 1985; a solo demo made by
in 1986; and the three-track single he released in 1986 for
El Records
, a label run by
Mike Alway
, who had initially signed
to
. The extras are all well chosen and really give an incisive and fun look at the band around the time leading up to and after the release of
.] ~ Tim Sendra