THE WORK-THE WORST OF EVERYWHERE, TAPE, 1982, UK

Pungent barbed R.I.O. vitriol thats simultaneously seething with a lust for chaos unleashed by punk and musically advanced/unbounded enough to make ironic play and enact on-the-spot deconstructions of the internal mechanics of the collision, here brought to you by the wing of the U.K. R.I.O. pantheon that seemed more than happy to miscegenate with the post punk scene, in this case, ex-Henry Cow-er Tim Hodgkinson, Bill Gilonis (Officer!, Hat Shoes), Mick Hobbs (Officer!, The Lowest Note On The Organ) and Rick Wilson (The Momes), with periodic interventions from Catherine Jauniaux. The cassette scrapbook/odds 'n' sods pastiche nature of this tape (edited with a hacksaw for maximum jump-cut disorientation) and it's live origins guarantee that The Work's machinations here are even more astringent than those featured on their Live In Japan LP from later in the year, when Homosexuals kingpin Jim Whelton and Chris Cutler would respectively take over the bass and drum seats vacated by Mick Hobbs and Rick Wilson. This is rude and extraordinary art rock malarky, the ramped up aggressiveness and lo-fi immediacy nudging this toward Blurt/Geeks territory on one side and something that oddly enough sounds more like a product of the post-Ruins 90's Japanese hardcore avant prog scene on the other. Thanks to an anonymous blog friend for this treasure!

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