First, Thank you John Maz! Victims of Convenience is a wonderful composition. Timeless… Without the back story, these tracks could come from the future, present day or past. An amazing sonic creation over forty years old. My aural landscape during the eighties was mildly progressive, but the distribution of sounds across the country was tedious and so non prolific. And even if i did have the chance to hear Victims of Convenience, my music appreciation was still under developed for such a progressive and threshold dwelling release. The melodies, beats and grooves filling this album well deserve a current day re-release. Very pleased to have a first listen with a bit more understanding, more patience and hopefully a more developed ear for such a cool record.
Victims of Convenience starts off with pulsating synthesizer rhythms that filled the mid eighties. You can almost hear how the melodies would fit perfectly with movies and tv shows of the time. What makes this so special is the percussion. Raw and filled with force, a combination at the time that was not common. The melodies from the keyboards also posses an underlying edge, as portrayed on the second track Industrial Mylasia. Wild grooves, untamed, flying off with centrifugal forces, collecting the steady metering of the drums and sinking deep into thoughts. The third selection Pidgeion Memory departs from constraints of sounds both then and now. A tittering balance of electronics and percussion, as if rolls are reversed and perfect sonic reflections are delightfully achieved. Sounds beyond this point becoming much more thoughtfully free, piano and base notes meandering with hip beatnik flair. The title track focuses back in on a more measured format of beats and rhythm. Similar to the opening track Commercial Dance Song but with unconventional interludes showcasing a sonic punch to commercial norms. Shortly following is Cigarette Trick, the groove bomb of the album. Easily the track most new listeners could find foothold with. There are three bonus selections, all great pieces with perpetual freshness. The last track is the original Commercial Dance Song album version.
The compact disc version is different from the 1986 original vinyl release. There tracks are in a slightly different order and there are three bonus selections on the disc. The disc version is the format you will see for streaming platforms, like youtube, apple music and spotify. Not sure if there is a best way to purchase the compact disc at the moment, but on discogs, both the original vinyl album and newer compact discs are available. Maybe contact Conveniens here; conveniens at hot mail dot com.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries
Links
Conveniens – youtube – spotify – apple music
