Bristol’s highly influential and always-unclassifiable The Pop Group has decided to reissue their seminal 1980 post-punk classic collection, We Are Time. This recording consists mostly of demos, live performances, and some radio sessions. Guitarist Gareth Sager discussed We Are Time in the album’s press release: “[We were] trying in an inexplicably naive manner to combine Patti Smith’s Rimbaud ramblings, James Brown, the Stooges, Roxy Music, T. Rex, and classical aleatoric music. You can hear the results of this on tracks ‘Genius Or Lunatic,’ ‘Colour Blind,’ ‘Trap,’ ‘Sense Of Purpose,’ ‘Kiss The Book’ and ‘We Are Time. ... Soon after this the band were bringing in other influences, Ornette Coleman, King Tubby, Funkadelic, Debussy, Jacques Brel, Fela Kuti, Steve Reich and then you get ‘Thief of Fire.’” Regardless of the influences, the brilliant use of such arbitrary sources to help inform their experimental and unconventional sound has made The Pop Group’s We Are Time a dependable set of post-punk blueprints. Sense of Purpose!

RIYL: Mars, Public Image Limited, Pere Ubu, Late Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, & Gang of Four.

FCC WARNING: 8
Recommended Tracks: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10

1. (4:18) ***Trap [Demo 1978] – Angular, frenetic, and paranoid. Start-stop beats with powerful lyrics.
2. (3:56) *Thief of Fire [Live Electric Ballroom 1979] – Great performance! Their intensity is felt here.
3. (3:52) Genius or Lunatic [Live Brussels 1979] – Another significant performance showcasing their energy.
4. (4:06) **Colour Blind [Demo 1978] – Accessible track with a catchy chorus and amazing lyrics.
5. (3:22) Spanish Inquisition [Live 1979] – Live take of regular quality. Great bass line.
6. (2:48) *Kiss the Book [BBC John Peel Session 1978] – Another angular, frenetic, and paranoid track. Post-punk forever.
7. (2:42) ***Amnesty Report [Foel Studios 1979] – Powerful, extravagant, and dancy. One of my favorite tracks on the album.
8. (1:09) Springer – FCC (fuck, fucking). Spoken word piece with DADA elements.
9. (4:24) **Sense of Purpose [Demo 1978] – Piano intro, start-stop beats, strong guitar and bass work, and more powerful lyrics.
10. (7:14) **We Are Time [Live Glastonbury 1979] – Live take of one of their best and better-known songs. The energy is there but the recording quality is a little fuzzy. Nonetheless, striking.