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| Infa-Riot STILL OUT OF ORDER Secret SEC 7 IF Infa-Riot have been ultra-quiet lately, it may be a deliberate calm before the storm; a calculated tranquility in order to allow this album its maximum impact. It will make its impact if justice is done, because it proves conclusively that you can be a shit-kicking, dirt-digging, hell-raising punk band while at the same time offering thought and versatility and melody and originality... and maybe even commerciality! Infa-Riot on "Top Of The Pops"? It could happen. If The Exploited can be invited to make their rabble-rousing way to the Shepherds Bush studios with "Dead Cities", then there are tracks here that could send the bus scooting off towards West London with Lee Wilson and his merry men inside, tuning up. "The Winner" won't be the one to do it. It's been out as a single for too long, although that's the sort of number we're talking about. Brashly aggressive and immensely tuneful in a simple kind of way (a worthy achievement - it's no easy task to create something new out of ideas so inherently fundamental), "The Winner" carries the kind of chorus you could sing in your sleep, all the more effective for the exchanges between lead and backing vocals. "Emergency" is distinguished by the same sort of devices on its refrain, the rest of the song leaping from one crisis point to another with racing guitar and bass and drums that give an earthy and atmospheric foundation. It's by virtue of their singalong-shoutalong hooklines that Infa-Riot can hope to net a broader cross-section of listeners than many of today's other punk-rockers. And they drive them home with punching rhythm-bursts that hammer these nails of songs into your head -a refreshing change from the groups who can rest content with a few vocal and chord variations over an unchanging groundwork. If all this is what makes Infa-Riot accessible, then there are other things that make them interesting. They've put a lot of effort into sounding different to their competitors, developing track arrangements as intricately as they can without losing their essential urgency. The guitar, in particular, aims for something more worthwhile than the clanging chords that would've got it by. This attention to detail asserts itself most noticeably on the comparatively slow-paced "Catch 22" with its touches of piano and harmonica and an uplift on the rhythm lines that, in other hands, could've turned into a leaden thump. Among the most immediately likeable numbers are "In For A Riot", which wrenches itself from a soft and melodic intro into a hurtling pace with a memorable yobby chorus, "Power" with a tuneful whip-it-up appeal that Wolfie Smith would be proud of; the arms-in-the-air chantability of "Boot Boys'; the spirited "Each Dawn I Die"; and "Friday Oh Friday", which gives us Infa-Riot joining the anti-disco league with lyrics about people who go out to "dance like Donald Duck". If there are two tracks that pale alongside the cracking standards of the others, its "Catalogue Kids" and "The Drug Squad" which display a lesser amount of imagination. A little criticism too of the production (by the band) which in places, fails to bring some of their brightest moments into sharp enough focus. On the whole, though, it preserves the balance of chaos and organisation on an album which proves that Infa-Riot are... still out of order! - CAROL CLERK (MELODY MAKER June 1982). |
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