Section 25's output on Factory often came under critical scrutiny from the music press on the strength of its accompanying packaging, or cost of it, rather than the music within. On the DVD Shadowplayers, the late Larry Cassidy lamented one journalist's callous review of debut-album Always Now which came dressed in a lavish fold-out sleeve that reputedly cost a mint to produce. "You can't turn a sow's ear into a silk purse but you can put it in one" - shame that line was used to describe S25's earnest efforts (it could certainly be applied to much of the shit in the charts today).
Subsequent albums fared just as badly. From The Hip, easily one of the most important electro releases in the '80s, failed to crossover in the UK (it did get noticed in the US) while Love and Hate appeared over a year past its original release date. Critics just couldn't detach Section 25 from the spectre of Joy Division and New Order, preferring to castigate them for daring to sound 'gloomy' or 'grey'. Sure, early material is somewhat bleak in places, but also offered hope and solace.
The band have enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent years - a clutch of well-received albums on LTM (and more recently Factory Benelux), plus a handful of singles and EPs have kept the band afloat, despite the passing of Larry and Jenny - further Cassidys in the shape of Bethany and Joanna continue to propel the legacy forward, as well as composing new material and performing a few shows here and there. Their most recent album Dark Light is reviewed here
Always Now
Fact 45
9/10
Peter Saville's lavish fold-out sleeve drew more gasps than the music inside, which is a shame because there is much to savour across the ten Martin Hannett-produced tracks. The trio had smoothed over the brutally harsh sounds of debut-single Girls Don't Count (produced by friend of the band, one Ian Curtis) and discovered atmospherics and patience (the latter was often needed when dealing with Hannett). In truth, much of AN is experimental without being self-indulgent and displays the perfect marraige between Hannett and the Cassidys. Tracks such as Friendly Fires, Hit and Loose Talk are short, sharp bursts of squally feedback and funereal vocals, scratchy guitars and ankle-deep bass that is closer to the likes of Can and Floyd, than Factory's roster. The longer tracks are perhaps the most rewarding - New Horizons begins with an eerie two minutes of desolate drones before one killer bass-line gives way to Vin's sparse echoey rhythm, while both Be Brave and Dirty Disco recall PiL and In Camera. CD issues gather up early singles such as Charnel Ground, Girls Don't Count and compilation tracks. Perhaps where Always Now fell down was its running order, resulting in a somewhat imbalanced or fractured listening experience however, regardless of this, Fact 45 remains an essential set for anyone keen on so-called progressive or experimental post-punk.
The Key Of Dreams
FBN 14
7/10
The following year saw the Blackpool outfit branch out even further into progressive dub territory with perhaps their most unsettling album to date. Harbouring a vault of edgy recordings from their hometown studio SSRU and interests in spiritual (and narcotic) enlightenment, S25's approach for album #2 was rather less formal, hence the resultant selections being compiled for the European arm of Factory Benelux, rather than their usual North West stable. The opening track Always Now (not included on the band's debut) set the tone with its off-kilter time-signature and tension-filled vocals, before being usurped by even stranger goings-on during Once Before and the epic rumble of There Was a Time. Closing instrumental Sutra sees the band jamming for nigh-on a quarter of an hour, again hovering in Krautrock territory and creating a complete contrast to the preceding sneering Wretch, a crowd favourite to this day. CD issues include the blueprint 12" mix of Sakura, a pivotal piece that pointed the way towards the band's increasing use of electronics and not a millions miles away from the similar chatterfunk of New Order's Everything's Gone Green.
From The Hip
Fact 90
10/10
Easily one of the '80s most unsung and maligned electro-pop albums, yet one of the most majestic and beautiful, From The Hip pulsates and glistens in equal measures. Designed as a spiritual journey, the pattering electronica and pretty synth hooks, mixed with brutalist electro-beats and production from New Order's Bernard Sumner, ensured a timeless experience. Opening track The Process and closing epic Inspiration pre-empted the ambient/techno scene proferred by the R&S and Warp labels by some five years, while instrumentals Program For Light and Beneath The Blade might have made perfect bedfellows with the likes of Cabaret Voltaire or Einsturzende Neubaten. US disco-hit Looking From a Hilltop is perhaps the band's signature hit (of sorts) while the rather solitary Desert provides a melancholic and acoustic respite from the harsh industrial surroundings. An exceptional album, you'll find a few more nuggets on CD issues including pre-acid mixes of the single Beating Heart. The 2012 vinyl reissue on the newly-resurrected Factory Benelux imprint is even more lustrous and comes as a double-pack while 2014 saw a well-deserved two-disc CD version hit the shelves, complete with previously unreleased extras.
Love & Hate
Fact 160
6/10
After the triumphant From The Hip, hopes were high for album number four. Sadly though, due to endless delays and label indifference, Love and Hate fell short of expectations and sank without trace after its release in 1988, some two years after the tracks were assembled. I heard them for the first time a year or so before after Larry kindly sent me a tape as recompense for a delayed mail order delivery from the band (yes, I've still got all of those hand-made tapes), including all the tracks from the album in a different sequence plus a rare dub mix of Bad News Week, the album's single. Other tracks included superior cuts such as Last Man In Europe and the archly-titled Shit Creek No Paddle, as well as a delicate and respectful recital of Erik Satie's Trois Gymnopedies. The album was recorded on a shoestring and in places, it shows. None of the songs matched up to any on From The Hip or even the glorious stop-gap single Crazy Wisdom. It could be argued that Love and Hate may have benefitted from a name producer such as Sumner but the fact that Section 25 still don't play much, if any, material from this era suggests elements of it aren't up to snuff. Notable exceptions include Last Man In Europe, Bad News Week, Shit Creek No Paddle and a respectful reading of Satie in the form of Tim Lick My Knees (Trois Gymnepodies). The CD issue is certainly worth having for the extras, including the remarkable Crazy Wisdom and a slew of demos.
Part-Primitiv
LTM
7/10
After nearly twenty years in the wilderness, Section 25 regrouped with a new line-up in 2007 and delivered a mostly enjoyable album. Featuring Jenny's last recordings before her premature death in 2004, Part-Primitiv sounds like all of S25's previous albums rolled into one, with extra vigour and energy for good measure. The two Winterland tracks, Power Base, Poppyfields and Dream are the equal of anything the Cassidys have produced before, with She's So Pretty and Can't Let Go fine examples of a band at full throttle and oozing confidence. Perhaps overlong and with too many tracks, PP was still undoubtedly a step in the right direction at a time when interest in all matters Factory was starting to rear its head once again. Sadly, chain-stores such as Virgin and HMV failed to stock it upon its release and radio glossed over its taught rough edges. Power Base certainly makes for a great radio track.
Nature and Degree
LTM
8/10
For their sixth album, the band changed its line-up, installed daughter Bethany Cassidy as vocalist and discovered pop. That's not as glib as it sounds either - tracks such as Remembrance, L'Arte Du Math and Garageland recall the likes of Saint Etienne, Pet Shop Boys or Happy Mondays while Mirror and Agenda contain elements from earlier works and influences, namely European dark-wave and industrial dance music. Although perhaps lacking in punkier elements of the previous album Part-Primitiv, Nature and Degree showed a band willing to move on and break new markets. The new band members also began to gel as a live unit and much of N&D continues to be performed live today. In an ideal world, the excellent Remembrance would have been a top 10 hit. But then this isn't an ideal world. I like this album a lot.
Retrofit
LTM
7/10
On paper, re-recording your old songs sounds dumb - in reality it makes perfect sense, especially if you want to look to the future and explore changing your live set from rock to electronic. Keyboards began to play an increasing role in Section 25's music as far back as From The Hip but Retrofit's remit was simple - to remodel band favourites into synth-orientated anthems fit for a new century. Sadly, singer and founder Larry Cassidy never got to see its release in 2010 but it's likely he witnessed its potential as a futureproof whilst he was still alive. The reworkings of Hilltop, Desert and The Process are the standouts here, while the one new track Uberhymn is another prime example of the band's continued dalliance with technology. A template of things to come? Almost certainly - S25's gigs at around this time were peppered with almost identical renditions of these very songs.
Dark Light
Factory Benelux
9/10
The first S25 album sans Larry is a triumph. A sharper electronic sound married with memorable melodies and Beth's crystalline vocals couldn't fail and tracks like Colour Movement Sex and Violence, RSD single My Outrage, the edgy Pitch Black Box and swoonsome opener World's End match anything from the band's already healthy canon. Dressed in a subtle Peter Saville sleeve and co-created with acclaimed producer Outernationale, Dark Light sounds confidently future-retro throughout, evoking a few comparisons with From The Hip and Nature and Degree. As with all of S25's albums (with the exception of From The Hip), there are moments when the eye stays off the ball (Memento, Letter To America) but the climatic Early Exit is both conclusive and beautiful and worth the admission fee alone.
Other songs and releases worth seeking out are recent EPs Invicta (including the superb Colour Movement Sex and Violence) and Stereograph split 12" (with mixes of Colour Movement and Inner Drive), remix package Eigengrau, the 'best of' set Dirty Disco plus early CD releases From The Hip In The Flesh (a live document of the band's US From The Hip tour) and Deus Ex Machina or indeed, any one of their vinyl releases from 'back in the day' - the original 12" of Looking From a Hilltop, Crazy Wisdom and Girls Don't Count remain collectible to this day. A RSD 7" is planned for 2015.
Head to LTM for further info and to buy most of the releases on this page here
For information and tickets to Section 25 shows, head to Allgigs here
