544. Lloyd Cole and the Commotions - Rattlesnakes (1984)
















Track Listing

1. Perfect Skin
2. Speedboat
3. Rattlesnakes
4. Down On Mission Street
5. Forest Fire
6. Charlotte Street
7. 2cv
8. Four Flights Up
9. Patience
10. Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?


Review

This is a pretty nifty album, we've been having a good run lately. And there's not much that's better than some jangly indie music from Scotland. Lloyd Cole has a very interesting voice, with some quite good tracks.

The real highlight here are the lyrics though. Of course there is there is a legitimate point that can be raised due to the fact that they depend on relentless name-dropping and pretentiousness, on Lloyd Cole showing how literate he is. And this is all true, but it is also all saved by his delivery.

Lloyd delivers his pretentiousness with an appropriately tongue in cheek voice, giving you a little wink, he knows he is being pretentious, and you should be in on the joke. If you aren't, it's your loss. When Lloyd Cole is not dropping names, however he is being an extremely witty songwriter with some of the best lines to come out of the 80's. The kind that just stick in your head, and you can maybe one day quote. And all the songs are like that. Great Album.

Track Highlights

1. Rattlesnakes
2. Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?
3. Forest Fire
4. Perfect Skin

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Their auspicious debut effort Rattlesnakes (1984) was initially dismissed as a "student bedsit classic", but now is regularly cited as one of the important works in rock music (and is much revered as a student bedsit classic...). NME included in its top 100 album of all times list, the title track was also covered by Tori Amos and Manic Street Preachers included it amongst their top ten albums of all times.

Rattlesnakes: