The Monochrome Set Albums (10)
What The Critics Say
The Monochrome Set have more compilations in their discography than actual albums, because Cherry Red Records executives seemingly have no end of ways to repackage their music. What a Whopper!, from 1992, is one of the group's most puzzling releases, however. From the sitar-and-chat-show opening ("So to explain how you can look mean and moody and still be Asian, here's Bid!") to the just plain weird closing track, "Sukra Sawdhamani," which features a huge and unrehearsed children's chorus singing in Bengali to an unrelated Monochrome Set instrumental track, the album plays up both singer/songwriter Bid's Anglo-Indian heritage (to the point of reprinting his recipe for cashew halvah in the liner notes) and the trippier psychedelic pop elements of the group's sound. More intriguingly, although several of the song titles are familiar (well over half of these songs appear on other Monochrome Set albums, from the title track to 1980's Strange Boutique to the 1985 single "Andiamo"), these are all alternate versions. They sound more like re-recordings than early demos, but the liner notes are mum as to when or where they were recorded. The El Records/Cherry Red catalog hints that this album was recorded and abandoned in 1985 as a psychedelic side project, but there is also the claim that the 1988 compilation Westminster Affair is the soundtrack to a French film, so veracity cannot be assumed. Mysterious provenance or not, What a Whopper! is a terrific album. The opening track, "Black Are the Flowers," makes excellent use of backwards guitars, and these versions of "Ten Don'ts for Honeymooners" and "Straits of Malacca" actually improve on the better-known renditions. ("Expresso" and "Goodbye Joe" are somewhat less successful than the original Strange Boutique versions, however.) The whole thing hangs together surprisingly well for an odds and sods collection, possibly bolstering the idea that it was all recorded at the same time. On the other hand, the songwriting credits span both the era of original guitarist Lester Square (Tom Hardy) and his replacement Foz (James Foster), making that unlikely. Whatever, it's a goodie. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Like Steely Dan, the Monochrome Set's later albums are more extreme than their earlier ones, in that the music gets progressively smoother and more genteel as the lyrical concerns grow odder and more abstruse. For example, "Pauper," the first single from 1995's Misere, finds singer/songwriter Bid singing about the joys of being utterly broke while cadging 150 pounds "for a really expensive album" from an unsuspecting mark in the chorus, all to a folky pop tune that sounds like Dave Matthews covering Prefab Sprout. Elsewhere, "Leather Jacket" is the best love song to that garment since the Chills' mid-'80s ode to sartorial splendor, "I Love My Leather Jacket," and the opening "Milk and Honey" ruminates darkly on death while quoting Leadbelly's "Midnight Special." Meanwhile, the melodies are mellow and the production is slick, sounding more like late-period Roxy Music than the antic XTC-like sound of the Monochrome Set's earlier albums. Misere isn't a bad record at all, but the surface slickness takes some work to get past to find the meat in the songs themselves. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
When the Monochrome Set came on the scene in the late '70s, they didn't quite sound like anybody else in the new wave and punk scenes. Overflowing with classic pop hooks, they were too witty, sophisticated, and upper-crust for the punk scene, but too eccentric and freethinking for mass appeal. When the band re-formed in 1990, they may not have sounded as innovative or as fresh as they once did, but they were still writing strong songs and performing them with gusto and verve. Charade is far from a perfect album, but it shows off the band's strengths on an individual track basis, and a couple of tunes here rank among the best they've ever recorded. The tender but twisted "Little Noises" is a good blueprint of the band's pre-hippie 1960s rock sound and unique lyrical vision, while "Christine" can proudly stand up to comparisons with Village Green Preservation Society-era Kinks. The song may just be the most good-natured number in the Monochrome Set's entire catalog and shows that the band still has new musical and emotional avenues to explore. ~ Nick Dedina, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
One of the band's few forays outside of their long-term home Cherry Red, Dante's Casino was their first release since re-forming at the end of 1989 (with the addition of new guitarist Orson Presence). One listen to "Bella Morte" will confirm your prejudices about the Monochrome Set: you'll either love the clever wordplay and effortless hooks which have always embossed their genre-defying sound, or you'll consider them a poor man's XTC. ~ Alex Ogg, All Music Guide
'The Lost Weekend'
Release Date 1/1/1985
Tracks 16
Label Blanco y Negro
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The Monochrome Set's curtain call before Bid launched a haphazard solo career, Lost Weekend offers "Jacob's Ladder," which was almost a hit single (heck, there was even a video). It was not to be, however, despite the move to Warners' subsidiary Blanco y Negro. The irony of the Monochrome Set was that they were always a small-budget band working on the most regal material. Still, there are several more great songs here, the best including "Letter from Viola," "Cargo," and "Wallflower" (also a single). ~ Alex Ogg, All Music Guide
'Eligible Bachelors'
Release Date 1/1/1982
Tracks 11
Label Cherry Red
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
One of the classic, undiscovered albums of the early '80s, Eligible Bachelors is a tour de force of wit and musical imagination. It features some of the funniest songs ever committed to vinyl, kicking off with "Jet Set Junta," which, alongside bookend song "The Ruling Class," pillories the neuroses of the wealthy. "The Mating Game" is also deeply amusing as a cad's cynical guide to the opposite sex, with lyrics like, "Blond, brunette or redhead, black, yellow or white/They taste the same, in the mating game." But it's not all jokes. "The Midas Touch" is an exquisite slice of whimsy riding a near-perfect guitar riff, with an emotional reach that shames most peers of songwriter Bid. Whether or not the rear cover testimonial from Andy Warhol is genuine, the Monochrome Set had released an age-defining record here. It's a shame nobody else knew about it. ~ Alex Ogg, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The group's second album (and last for Virgin subsidiary Dindisc), Love Zombies features more accomplished songwriting from main man Bid -- especially the title track and the playful "The Man With the Black Moustache." Fans -- BBC Radio DJ John Peel among them -- had long since recognized the Monochrome Set's supreme compositional agility. This is amply demonstrated by Love Zombies, which switches from sweet pop to wry ballads to a kind of alt-rock rumba with disarming ease. "The Weird, Wild and Wonderful World of Tony Potts," incidentally, is a tribute to the band's visual designer and "fifth member." And isn't "In Love, Cancer?" one of the all-time great song titles? ~ Alex Ogg, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Monochrome Set's debut album for Virgin followed the indie success of their singles "Alphaville," "Eine Symphonie Des Grauens," and "The Monochrome Set." By the time it was scheduled, Andy Warren (ex-Adam & the Ants) had replaced Jeremy Harrington on bass, and the lineup was completed by guitarist Lester Square (also ex-Ants), Indian-born vocalist/guitarist Bid, and former Art Attacks drummer J.D. Haney. Although it can't quite match Eligible Bachelors for songwriting, there are a number of superb, non-single album tracks that make this an essential purchase for fans -- especially "Ici les Enfants," "The Puerto Rican Fence Climber," and "The Lighter Side of Dating." Amid the austerity of post-punk England, and before we became awash with irony and archness, we needed a band who could raise their eyebrows and smirk at it all without ever being condescending (or maybe only a little bit condescending). ~ Alex Ogg, All Music Guide
