is the associates : 'sulk' all it's cracked up to be ?

I think so:

http://devonrecordclub.wordpress.com/2011/06/16/the-associates-sulk-round-10-toms-selection/

as soon as i opened this thread itunes shuffle selected the associates! not something from sulk but still ...

yes it is. such an amazing mix of accessibility and experimentation. some of the deep cuts are so fucking weird

Can I just mention how much I love the drums on this record? Everything about the record is incredibly slick and overloaded (which I love), but then the drums underneath seem like they could fall apart at any time... it's great!

Didn't they fill up the drums with water or something? The whole album sounds warped, in a great way.

In their endless search for found sounds, industrial drums and canisters were rolled down reverberating corridors, sheets of metal were vigorously shaken to create the effect of rolling thunder (witness the introduction to No), hired drums were filled with water (they turned to mush), hired guitars were pissed in (Billy's idea)

From Tom Doyle's sleeve notes for the sulk reissue

Saw a clip of Associates in the Big Gold Dream documentary a couple of years ago and they were the only thing that wowed me. I knew the name of the band and nothing more before then.

Got this album recently and it is great, the demo of "Party Fears Two", called "I never Will" has an amazing vocal that is distinct enough to be a very worthwhile alternate version.