by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Following in the wake of forward thinking post-punk bands like Gang of Four and Wire in the late 70’s, South London’s Normil Hawaiians emerged with an experimental edge. Their full length albums (released in 1982 and 1984) embraced improvisational expression, using everything from tape loops to extended rhythmic drifts to create space and tone for their ideas to wander. While the band never achieved the underground praise of acts like This Heat or The Swell Maps, their music could be one of that era’s best kept secrets. The past few years has seen Upset The Rhythm (Handle, Sleeper & Snake, Philip Frobos) reissuing both of Normil Hawaiians’ classic albums as well as their “lost” record, Return of the Ranters. After a short pause, the reissues continue with Dark World, a new collection of the band’s earliest recordings from 1979 to 1981, comprised of their rawest pre-More Wealth Than Money output.
The band’s beginnings capture a sound that shows both the influences that would drive them (the aforementioned Gang of Four) and a hint at what would come. Having already shared “Still Obedient” and “Dark World,” the latest single from the 22 track collection is “Ventilation,” a song that features lead vocals from a then 15 year old Janet Armstrong (who went on to sing backing vocals on David Bowie’s “Absolute Beginners”). With a gorgeously discordant framework and just the right bit of skronk, the song is a groover, built on an elastic rhythm that really leads the danceable punk track, a product of its time and place… which was undoubtably a good time and a good place. Armstrong’s vocals have a strong presence and a sure footed delivery, with a big post-punk hook and mesmerizing melody. It’s gluey and fun, the sound of a band that spent their earliest years making solid records before figuring out just how weird to get.