It’s the first thing I’ve heard by Beauty School Dropout. They’re from Scotland I think and fuck, they rock. High-pitched singing from the male vocalist but it fits perfectly to the music and there’s some perfect harmonies going on in the choruses. I know nothing about this band as there’s minimal info on the sleeve. Do they have a female member? It sounds like it from the harmonies but maybe that’s just more high-pitched singing. Both “Poison Pen” and “Pass The Buck” are great and you are urged to find this single NOW on the strength of this side alone.

Happily, Discount are great too with a couple of songs from the Half Fiction era – the singalong “On The Counter” and “Antiseptic”, one of Discount’s best songs in my opinion and certainly the one with the most majestic chorus. The side ends with a mysterious acoustic tune, the title of which isn’t on the sleeve but it’s certainly not worth ignoring as it’s as good as anything else here. Alison’s vocals suddenly sound younger than ever on this song but that’s not a criticism…

--Chris (30th Oct 2001)