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- Date Released: January 1, 1979
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Style: Alternative
- Label: Oval Music / IODA
Attention eye-linered cyborgs and teen-pop fans: this is your new party album
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We Say...
Forget her weirdo-Bowie-girl onstage affect: Lene Lovich's voice would have put Stateless, the singer's 1979 debut, in the new-wave clouds by itself. Sometimes, as on "Tonight," she put her lyrics over like a Patti Smith who'd studied German theater; sometimes, as on "Too Tender (to Touch)," she came across as the Patti Smith who'd collaborated with Bruce Springsteen. But mostly, Lovich had a squawk that was as deliberately deployed as that of the later Cyndi Lauper, or the contemporary B-52's' Cindy Wilson, only huskier. But Stateless is also a first-rate party record, and not just because Lovich — the daughter of a Yugoslavian dad and English mum who split Detroit at 13 for Hull before scrapping through London — has a thing for oompah rhythms. (See "Say When" and especially "One in a Million," which could have been written for Oktoberfest.)
Lovich was a real original, and in a way Stateless might have been her greatest stumbling block: it sounds so much like the culmination of a lifetime, and so squarely of its time and place, that it froze her permanently. But it's a wonderful freeze-frame. She was as fond of rockabilly beats as beer-hall ones, as "Lucky Number" demonstrates efficiently. She delivered the Numan-synth let's-fuck missive "Home" with humor and aplomb ("Home is will you miss us/ Home is I don't know/Let's go to your place"). And she did the same with "Telepathy," the album's secret classic. Over twinkling electronics playing a girl-group arrangement, Lovich moans that her sci-fi scenario is backfiring on her: "I know what you've done/Yeah, you don't think I don't know/You've been playing 'round/With miss so-and-so/Telepathy's gonna be the death of me." Recommended to eye-linered cyborgs and teen-pop fans equally enthusiastically. -
They Say...
One of Stiff Records' most stable staples, the truly alternative Lene Lovich laid much of the groundwork for an entire generation of singers left to pick up the pieces in the wasteland of the post-punk era. Her stunning debut, 1979's Stateless...Plus, was so unique, so vibrant, and her vocal stylings so unusual that the LP not only put her right at the front of the pack of nascent new wavers, it also sounded a commercial death knell of sorts, relegating her to the realms of novelty acts -- at least as far as the mainstream was concerned. But that's not to say that the mainstream wasn't keeping an ear cocked. Re-recorded from the demo that landed her a deal in the first place, a unique rendering of the bubblegum puff piece "I Think We're Alone Now" provided such propulsion that its B-side, the now-classic "Lucky Number," was itself then re-recorded, to land Lovich a Number Three U.K. hit in early 1979. Elsewhere, the darkly sinister "Home" played off the rumors concerning Lovich's exotic Eastern European background (she was actually from Detroit, but she could fake a great accent). The piano-led Patti Smith-y "Too Tender (Too Touch)" allowed Lovich to explore a quieter corner, as did a sexy, sensuous rehash of fellow Stiff-er Nick Lowe's "Tonight." The rambunctious squeak of "Say When," on the other hand, not only tempered that mood but also scored Lovich another hit. While Stateless...Plus is certainly very much of its era, and well-placed in its time, inspired and adventurous songwriting coupled with a truly pioneering intent ensure that this LP will always remain the lit roadside marker that whispered "this way" to the hundreds of bands who followed.
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| 01. |  |
Lucky Number |
2:49 |
|
| 02. | |
Sleeping Beauty |
3:00 |
|
| 03. | |
Home |
3:40 |
|
| 04. | |
Too Tender (to Touch) |
4:04 |
|
| 05. | |
Say When |
2:49 |
|
| 06. | |
Tonight |
4:30 |
|
| 07. | |
Writing on the Wall |
3:09 |
|
| 08. | |
Telepathy |
2:46 |
|
| 09. | |
Momentary Breakdown |
3:17 |
|
| 10. | |
One In a Million |
2:52 |
|
| 11. | |
I Think We're Alone Now |
2:47 |
|
| 12. | |
Be Stiff |
2:40 |
|
| 13. | |
One Lonely Heart |
3:21 |
|
| 14. | |
Big Bird |
3:26 |
|
| 15. | |
I Think We're Alone Now (Japanese Version) |
2:46 |
|
| 16. | |
Lucky Number (Slavic Dance Version) |
4:31 |
|
16 Total Tracks, 52:27 Total Length
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