Passage - pindrop (1980)

Pindrop begins with "Fear", which is tense and neurasthenic Electronic Post-Punk, whose closest relative is probably that first monumental album of Suicide (without the rockabilly). But "Troops Out" is surprisingly upbeat and poppy (could be an Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark outtake), while "Carnal" is theatric and pounding. "Watching You Dance" returns to the spirit of the first track, albeit in a calmer setting, that of the nocturnal threat looming around taut senses. Taut senses that overshoot in the paroxysm of "Hunt", the paranoid rampage of "From The Heart" and the unhealthy disquiet of "Locust", as well as another exercise at building intensity in "16 Hours". Finally, a relative release is found in "Carmen" (that sounds like The Fall would sounds if they played Synth Pop). However, "A Certain Way To Go" revisits the lunacy in a calmer, almost ethereal, but still threatening scenery, while the icy-cold somber calmness of "Prelude" fragments into agonizing outbursts, presenting the icing on the cake of this masterpiece. Get it here.