TS: XTC's Black Sea vs. English Settlement

apart from it being slightly less good than English Settlement

There's a good interview with Hugh Padgham about the recording of English Settlement on the latest episode of the XTC podcast.

And, yes, Black Sea is a much better album.

hard question to answer, Black Sea is pretty much perfect in it's (relatively) narrow scope, English Settlement is more ambitious and contains some all-time moments, along with a wealth of songs that reveal more every time you hear them, and yet as an album it does that double LP thing where it really has you then it loses you which is a shame because there are some amazing songs at the end. Only track I'd outright cut is probably "Leisure" though there are a few I wish were shorter. Also I think both albums are obnoxious in particular ways, but Black Sea actually is more annoying than I remembered. when I first got into the band I asked my uncle about them since he's pretty hip to this stuff and he said "oh they're the ones who did that Generals and Majors song right?" and then he proceeds to sing it in the most annoying way possible, actually not unlike how Colin sung it live. I love the song but he has a point.

was interesting to learn that XTC actually had a bunch of hits despite not really being a household name. reading about them online you'd think only Senses & Dear God made a splash.

"Travels in Nihilon" is my favourite XTC song and one of my favourite-ever songs

was interesting to learn that XTC actually had a bunch of hits despite not really being a household name. reading about them online you'd think only Senses & Dear God made a splash.

i still hear 'generals and majors' and 'mayor of simpleton' and 'king for a day' in local stores all the time, they seem like mainstays of slightly hip retail playlists

only on ILM could 26 people be so wrong

otm @frogbs

I was going to say that I prefer Black Sea — and it is their rockingest record, which is my sweet spot -- but see that it too has some of that characteristic annoyingness that also comes up on English Settlement. Still, many really great songs on both and texturally I think they never topped Runaways, Jason and the Argonauts, English Roundabout, Snowman. Fretless bass + 12-string are super important on this one, and I don't think they ever were as important later (though I could be wrong).

On the other hand, to me at least it inaugurates a pastoral vibe that takes over on the last two records (which I can't deal with at all), though is magnificent on Skylarking (especially the original version with the perfect Mermaid Smiled).

thing is i adore both albums and they are my favourite band ever basically, but if i had to rank the albums black sea would probably fall into the back half. it's not as diverse as - well most xtc albums really, not least those either side of it. it's an album of superior power pop + cuba and travels as excellent diversions (those two and optimism's flames are my favourites). english settlement has only one track it could arguably do without (leisure obv) but that still leaves 14 tracks i adore. but while both of my two least favourites on black sea - language and towers - are better than leisure, that's still two relatively minor tracks i might be tempted to skip now and then. and most xtc albums don't even have that many.

"Living Through Another Cuba" is the only song on the album that annoys me ymmv

otoh "No Language in Our Lungs"? Best XTC song ever.

Could live without all of Side 3 from "English Settlement" tbh, although "Knuckle Down" is OK I suppose. "Down in the Cockpit" can go too.

"Language" and "Towers" are my two favorite tracks on the album! but then I usually skip fgti's favorite. another no consensus band

i also have always loved "burning with optimism's flames"

yeah was always surprised that one wasn't a single as well

I remember being quite unimpressed with the second disc of English Settlement whereas Black Sea has good songs all the way through

as Tom mentions it's really Side C that's the problem, I mean Side D is as great as the rest, though I know some people get annoyed with "Down in the Cockpit"

what's frustrating about that is they had some really good B-sides/non-album singles floating around at this time, "Tissue Tigers" especially. maybe "Punch and Judy" and "Blame the Weather" could've made it as well

settlement bums me out. it has the highs of the best xtc records and the most opportunities for the band to stretch out to 5 minute pseudo-jams, but for me has too many ultra corny songs and sounds, similar to mummer and big express and everything post dukes.

i know i'm an outlier in that i think leisure is great - including the atonal sax part illustrating the headsplitting boredom causing mental illness (this seems to be a metaphor for partridge's impending desire to retire but it will make him crazy) and the lazybones tin pan alley interpolation at the end. but i usually skip runaways, guns, africa, knuckle down, and cockpit. runaways in particular bothers me: the don't crys just make me wince, the song is trying to be sad or something and i just don't buy the emotion in it, and more importantly, the theme of the song is just so conservative and mother knows best, stay at home, don't rebel, that's too worrisome. it seems to declare this entire album's project is to reject xtc's punk's rebellious spirit and connect with the past.

one thing settlement has going for it... it seems to encompass all the seasons. you can put it on in spring, summer, winter, fall. i think i'd like it more if they included some of the b-sides as album tracks, particularly over rusty water, heaven is paved with broken glass, punch and judy, and tissue tigers. some more spikiness would do the album well, i think.

never got that impression from "Runaways" myself, it's very clear that the subject is running away from a very abusive situation

A "no consensus band" is right. I dig Leisure, too, fwiw.

fwiw I dig a lot of XTC's "annoying" songs but not that one for some reason. I'll even defend "Wounded Horse"