I first heard about The Lucy Show a couple years ago on some random internet forum about music, but never actually got around to listening to them, until now. The Lucy Show is a new wave rock band from the early 1980s, originating in London, England. This particular album was the band’s final, and best-selling album. They were apparently somewhat of a hit with the college rock scene, and I’m excited to give the album a listen. There’s not a whole lot I can think to add at the moment, so with that, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Land and the Life” starts out sort gradual, though quickly introduces some really interesting sounds to the musical landscape. It’s almost like an early iteration of shoegazing in a certain way. The energy in this sound is really high; the music is upbeat, constantly moving forward, and has a great, interesting pulsating sort of feel to it. It almost reminds me a bit of another 80s band, XTC. Really cool intro to the album.
“View from the Outside” has a great flavor to the intro guitar part. Wow, the energy in this one is super high – and it has a tangible bop-iness to it. The soundscape is constantly filled with music from any number of instruments, and certain instruments sort of get to peer through the aether at certain points. Those drums have a great driving feel that really pushes the song forward. This song has some really cool things going on with what I think might be key changes. The song sort of comes crashing together with different vocal layerings that are so smooth, yet spinning and disorienting to the listener in a super awesome way. I’m definitely hooked into this album at the moment. Oh wow, those bells and chimes at the outro are so surreal.
Oh wow, “Sojourn’s End” starts so smoothly from the last track, and the flavor in this one is immense. The synth, electric guitar, and harmonica all sort of melt and distort together in a super strange, very musically enticing way. There’s almost a strange psychedelic blues feel to this one. I really dig how the groove is kept very similar throughout the song as different instruments melt through the song. Oh wow, those congas are really interesting when you can hear them. I almost forgot to mention that jangly sounding guitar that comes in once a while, and really provides an awesome layer to the flavoring of this mix. Oh wow, this song really evolves and changes a lot with the instrumentation, yet keeps a consistent feel throughout. This song sort of reminds me of both XTC and The Church, and sort of combines a lot of elements from both of them in a unique way, with great songwriting. Wow, the bells and chimes end this one too.
Oh wow, “Sad September” starts out absolutely serene with the bells and chimes leading straight into this song. The acoustic guitar has a great jangliness that’s echoed by the other instruments like the piano and the percussion. I’m really digging both this song and the album at the moment. It’s sort of got that “Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day feel, though I might just be reminded because of the song titles. Either way, awesome tune. The droning strings in this one are absolutely incredible too – this song is almost an orchestral piece of sorts. I really dig the way the chimes seem to be near the end of each song.
Oh wow, “A Million Things” brings a completely new feel to the mix. There’s some electric organ that opens the song up with some really sweet swirly flavor. It’s almost like a classic psychedelic rock song from 1968 got sent through a mad scientist’s crazy 80s-ifier machine; super awesome. Oh wow, that harmonica tone really rounds out the sound of the song so well. Oh wow, that milky, clean guitar tone is almost like a beacon of light in the complex, layered soundscape that the band creates. Amazing song.
“Sun and Moon” starts out very slowly with some droning synths, until the other instruments drop into place and the song suddenly has a pretty quick tempo. It almost feels some song meant for an epic montage of a journey from an 80s movie. This song is really sweet with the different ways the instruments sort of build on each other, while contrasting what the other instruments are playing at the same time. This guitar solo is super reverberated, and sounds super awesome with all the echoes of the other parts of the song.
“Shame” has a really sweet whishiness to it, and has a very steadfast feel to it. Those guitars are awesome – I’m not sure what effects are being used on them, but I’d like to know. There’s definitely an 80s dream pop sort of feel to this one I think, and I’m definitely reminded a lot of The Church in this one. I really do love the feeling from this one though. Each song sounds like it’s such a good duration as well, nothing too overplayed, and everything stays upbeat and fresh.
“Melody” is really neat at the beginning. There’s almost a droning feeling to the vocals and instrumentation as they all fade in. I’m reminded a lot of Tess Parks in this one for some reason – I think the general droning feels from the song, but it’s once again sent through that mad scientist’s 80s-ifier. Wow, everything works to a super melodic ending that really comes to a nice crescendo of droning layers. Definitely a cool song.
“Part of Me Now” has a super interesting, hyper-80s ballad feel to it with the heavy use of synths on every level of instrumentation from percussion to melodic parts. I think there’s the gentle playing of an electric guitar and a normal piano that really add greatly to the optimistic melancholy of the song’s tone. The vocals are like a lighthouse through the dream-like fog of the synth soundscape, really pulling the listener closer with something so simple. The piano really adds some great flavor to the whole mix with how little, yet how wisely it is used.
“New Message” sounds like some sort of super heavy 80s workout jam. This song is super interesting to me, as I don’t think I’ve really listened to that much 80s music, yet it’s immediately recognizable to me. I’m reminded a lot of Thomas Dolby on this one in particular. The bass and drums are super reliably driving the song forward. Right before the chorus, there’s a really awesome trash can-like crashing of the drums that’s super cool. Speaking of super cool, this trumpet/horn solo is absolutely awesome, and completely unexpected based on the instrumentation thus far in the album. I think this was the original final track of the album, and it’s really awesome. There’s still a journey happening, but you can feel things getting tied up to a certain extent. Oh wow, those shakers or maybe a tambourine really adds such an awesome little flare to it. Holy smokes, there’s a harpsichord-like synth jamming out in the background and it’s really awesome. The layers of this song, and album, are really awesome. Each song seems filled to the brim with fresh, innovative musical moments.
“Jam In E” starts out with really milky tones from the guitar that sort of fade into the song. Wow, everything is sort of swathing over itself, and really drones on in a really awesome way. That bass line is so tight, and the drums are so driving that the song is really driven forward extremely well even as other instruments and the vocals feel like they lack a particular direction as everything sort of swirls and drones around in a super enchanting way. The harmonica gets a little action at the end too, simply adding even more flavor to the mix. Great jam.
“Invitation” has a super interesting beginning to it, with what sounds like certain instruments being played in reverse. I can’t believe how much of the album has already played, I feel as though I’ve been under some sort of musical enchantment for the last 40 minutes or so. Wow, there are like extra-dimensional whispers present in the song, almost like the song is drifting through different dimensions as it plays.
“Civil Servant” has an incredibly unique feel – it’s like something of traditional European folk music meets 80s psychedelic rock. There’s an enchanting whistle that encapsulates you as the waves of the electric guitar wash over you and the rocky shore of the drums is propping you up. Wow, this song is absolutely awesome. I’m very stoked I checked this album out tonight.
“Sun and Moon (Live)” drops right into things on this live version, that really feels like it sort of digs into the world for some deep meaning that you could interpret however you’d like through the different musical mediums the song provides. Those guitar really swish around and wash over you while the drums and bass keep things so tight and driving forward. The droning vocals of the song really add great flavor to the whole tune as everything is rocking and rolling around – pretty sweet. Oh wow that little synth solo at the end is super sweet.
“View from the Outside (Live)” starts to bring things back around full circle (or very nearly) with this live version of the second track. This song feels like it’s so weighted, yet consistently has a great feeling as though it’s washing over you in a cleansing sort of way as it gets down to business with the chorus. This live version might even have more energy than the studio version from earlier, if that’s even possible. Wow, those false stops at the end are absolutely awesome too.
“New Message (Basement Demo)” has a super interesting rawness to them, yet is still filled to the brim with clean 80s synth sounds. This version has a different sort of feel to it – almost swinging in a certain way. This one definitely doesn’t have as much of a bopping feel to it, bringing a bit more syncopation to the table. Regardless, the songwriting is absolutely awesome. There’s so much feeling in the vocals and in the playing of the instruments that gives such weight to the song. Really awesome version.
“A Million Things (Original Mix)” has a really awesome feeling that still uses that electric organ at the beginning, though a bit less, or at least more quickly, if I’m remembering correctly. There’s so much great flavor in this one as the whole song sounds like it’s spinning around itself. It almost reminds me a bit of the feel from Country Joe McDonald’s 1971 album, Hold on it’s Coming. There’s definitely a bit of that dream pop/proto-shoegazing feel from all of the synths. That harmonica and electric guitar are just absolutely wailing. The whole song is coming to a massive musical crescendo at the end, and is an absolutely awesome way to bring this album to end. There’s a solo piano key being played on the outro that really demonstrates a possibly previously unheard layer from the song that really drives things forward extremely well. Awesome tune.
Wow, I’m glad I listened to this one tonight. Absolutely awesome album, with so many delicate intricacies to the amazing songwriting. If you’re wary of 80s music to any degree, and really enjoy late 60s/early 70s psychedelic rock, you’ll probably get some enjoyment from this one. If you already like 80s music, but haven’t heard this one, it’s honestly an amazing album to check out. I want to listen to their debut record ASAP. I really do recommend checking this one out. If you do decide to give it a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy it at least as much as I did.
-A