The Distractions - Nobody's Perfect 2020 - Occultation Recordings - 2CD LP
During the past few decades, there have been many cases put forward for reissuing previously ignored or underrated albums of the '80s. Modern Eon's 'Fiction Tales', Win's 'Uh! Tears Baby' and Music For Pleasure's 'Into The Rain' remain in the vaults, criminally forgotten and gathering dust.
The Distraction's lauded 1980 Island Records debut Nobody's Perfect was another album pining for a revisit - until now. Exeter's Occultation Records, spearheaded by occasional Distraction Nick Halliwell, has unleashed a very long-awaited double CD and single LP version just 40 years after the original release. The band's blend of frenetic spiky punk-pop and swoonsome new-wave balladeering has weathered well - a mix of cool jangly chords and self-effacing lyrics often offset by teary harmonies and heart-wrenching crooning, all topped off with some of the decade's greatest choruses.
For the 2CD, you get all of the original album plus attendant singles and b-sides - their bright-eyed cover of Eden Kane's Boy's Cry, the re-recorded and superior 7" take on Something For The Weekend, both versions of the memorable It Doesn't Bother Me (the TJM mix is particularly bracing) and the perennial Time Goes By So Slow.
Among the other hard-to-finds is an exclusive 2020 mix of the entire album plus One Way Love and It Doesn't Bother Me. Remixing old analogue recordings can sometimes fall a little flat but Halliwell's respectful handling of what was a somewhat infrequently underwhelming original mix injects a new vitality. This is ably demonstrated on the aforementioned Boys Cry with singer Mike Finney's vocals further forward in the mix and the should-have-been-a-single Leave You To Dream, sounding sprightly and fresh after a sonic wash and brush-up.
Add in some demos and other sundry titbits, including the belting farewell single (of the early era) Twenty-Four Hours, Nobody's Perfect 2020 ranks as one of the most enticing and essential reissues in a very long time. The LP comprises the 2020 remix. Great sleeve and informative notes from longtime fan David Quantick seals the deal.
10/10
The Distraction's lauded 1980 Island Records debut Nobody's Perfect was another album pining for a revisit - until now. Exeter's Occultation Records, spearheaded by occasional Distraction Nick Halliwell, has unleashed a very long-awaited double CD and single LP version just 40 years after the original release. The band's blend of frenetic spiky punk-pop and swoonsome new-wave balladeering has weathered well - a mix of cool jangly chords and self-effacing lyrics often offset by teary harmonies and heart-wrenching crooning, all topped off with some of the decade's greatest choruses.
For the 2CD, you get all of the original album plus attendant singles and b-sides - their bright-eyed cover of Eden Kane's Boy's Cry, the re-recorded and superior 7" take on Something For The Weekend, both versions of the memorable It Doesn't Bother Me (the TJM mix is particularly bracing) and the perennial Time Goes By So Slow.
Among the other hard-to-finds is an exclusive 2020 mix of the entire album plus One Way Love and It Doesn't Bother Me. Remixing old analogue recordings can sometimes fall a little flat but Halliwell's respectful handling of what was a somewhat infrequently underwhelming original mix injects a new vitality. This is ably demonstrated on the aforementioned Boys Cry with singer Mike Finney's vocals further forward in the mix and the should-have-been-a-single Leave You To Dream, sounding sprightly and fresh after a sonic wash and brush-up.
Add in some demos and other sundry titbits, including the belting farewell single (of the early era) Twenty-Four Hours, Nobody's Perfect 2020 ranks as one of the most enticing and essential reissues in a very long time. The LP comprises the 2020 remix. Great sleeve and informative notes from longtime fan David Quantick seals the deal.
10/10