Reissue of the Week: PINK SECTION LP
This is a beautiful reissue. It sounds and looks amazing, the band pix are so cool — especially the photo of Carol and Judy posing in front of the Tropicana — and will make you wanna change your style immediately. The all-neon-pink sleeve (including the inside) is such a sick touch! This includes all the available PINK SECTION tracks, including their live tracks from the Deaf Club, their 45 and 12″, and a couple of amazing demos. Named after the arts and entertainment supplement of the San Francisco Chronicle, PINK SECTION shared members with the untouchable INFLATABLE BOY CLAMS, and lived in North Beach when you could find a three-bedroom apartment for $250 total… I read an interview with them where they talked about only needing to work one day a week to make their rent! The thought of that possibility makes a modern punk shudder, endless tragedies in the face of the end of San Francisco (or pretty much any city you can name that was cool in other more magical eras at this point in time). These are total surreal SF sounds with shattered manic new wave flourishes, true art punk in the best sense of the concept. So many ideas crammed into each frantic song, the lyrics are especially ironic and hilarious, cutting and sharp witted, taking down the decadent rich hippies that decamped to Marin when things got harsh, the involuntary demands of consumer culture, and militant chic while retaining a flip throwaway pop art affect. I guess the closest comparison band would be SUBURBAN LAWNS, except I don’t hate it when the guys sing…This record is a cut-up, a total up-all-night dance party with sick keyboards, shards of guitars, and the coolest male/female vocals, deconstructing new wave and the truth.
(Superior Viaduct)
