No fear of tomorrow
Kiss of neverness
Life of timelessness
Y is the debut album by British post-punk band The Pop Group released in 1979 by Radar Records.
Initially formed in 1977 by lead singer Mark Stewart looking to form a funk band. They were inspired by the energy of punk rock, but disillusioned by its musical simplicity and heavily incorporated black music styles such as free jazz and dub reggae, as well as the avant-garde utilizing discordant rhythms and ritual tribal drumming. They would also enlist dub prodcer Dennis "Blackbeard" Bovell, his contributions furthering the dub influence and trapping the incendiary nature of their live performances.
Y would receive a mixed initial reception, but it would garner acclaim over time and would later be considered a foundational record for the post-punk genre and an influence upon later artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Massive Attack and St. Vincent.
Tracklist
Side A- "Thief of Fire" (4:35)note
- "Snowgirl" (3:20)
- "Blood Money" (3:56)
- "Savage Sea" (3:01)
- "We Are Time" (6:29)
Side B
- "Words Disobey Me" (3:25)
- "Don't Call Me Pain" (5:34)
- "The Boys from Brazil" (4:15)
- "Don't Sell Your Dreams" (6:37)
Tropes Disobey Me:
- Avant-Garde Music
- Dance-Punk: The album would be a formative release for the genre.
- Dub: The album retains a significant amount of influence from the genre, with the producer, Dennis Bovell, being a noted dub producer in his own right.
- Epic Rocking: "We Are Time" and "Don't Sell Your Dreams" are 6-and-1/2 minutes, and live releases of the former are almost a minute longer.
- Genre Mashup: The album would blend free jazz, avant-garde music, funk, noise rock and punk rock with dub reggae production techniques and tribal drumming.
- Gratuitous Panning: All over the damn record. The most gratuitous being "Blood Money", which finds various aspects of the track being spliced between the channels.
- Harsh Vocals: So much so that various songs on the record can go into Careful with That Axe territory. The only exception is "Savage Sea".
- Instrumentals: The B-Side "3'38", which appears as a bonus track on some reissues.
- Jazz: Free jazz, in particular, would be a major influence on the band and actively emulated on the record.
- One-Word Title: "Snowgirl".
- Post-Punk: This album would be one of its definitive records.
- Protest Song: "Blood Money" does this with a side of Capitalism Is Bad:Boil my heart alive
Money is a weapon of terror
Who says guns speak louder who says guns speak louder
What does it feel like to kill a man
How can you wash the blood off your hands - Record Producer: Dennis "Blackbeard" Bovell of the reggae band Matumbi.
- Silly Love Songs: According to Mark Stewart, "She is Beyond Good and Evil" is this. As he described as "being about unconditional love as a revolutionary force — where idealism and energy mix poetic, existential, and political yearnings with the romantic idea of passing through nihilism and emerging on the other side with something positive, something beyond."
- "Snowgirl" is another more.....esoteric example.
Snowgirl, I burn you
Snowgirl, I melt you
Your hair is on fire
When I touch you you melt
Snowgirl, snowgirl
I burn you, I melt you - Surprisingly Gentle Song: "Savage Sea", a quiet, calm piano piece, which sits in contrast with the rest of the record.
- Word Salad Lyrics: You won't understand what Mark Stewart is trying to get across, but you'll know he's quite passionate about it.
