The Soft Boys- A Can of Bees (1979) / Invisible Hits (1983) MP3 & FLAC

"And darkness is the shore of light, the truth is framed with lies. And a girl can smile sweetly though her mouth is stuffed with flies."

The Soft Boys, originally formed as Dennis and The Experts at the height of the U.K. Punk movement, were a band seemingly constructed out of contrarian tendencies, for, quite of of step with the musical zeitgeist of the late seventies, they dressed their brand of Post-Punk in the kind of late-sixties psych-rock and Brit-Rock signifiers that were anathema to the "three chords or less" minimalism then in vogue. What wasn't so obvious at the time of the release of their debut, A Can of Bees, was that Psychedelic revivalism would blossom just a few years later in the U.K., U.S. (most notably in Athens, GA. and Los Angeles, CA.), New Zealand, and Australia. As such, there can be little doubt that The Soft Boys played a major role in connecting the dots between Post-Punk and neo-psychedelia; as head Soft Boy Robyn Hitchcock has noted, "Big Star and us were the rickety bridge between The Byrds and R.E.M."  Hitchcock's "rickety bridge" metaphor is both apt and a little modest. Apt because while neither band had any commercial success (though in Big Star's case, this was largely due to poor promotion), they both exerted a huge influence on the musicians who peopled the early-eighties psyche-rock resurgence. Modest because both bands demand to be heard on their own terms, as their music, in and of itself, is just as distinctive and influential as the music that inspired them. In the case of A Can of Bees, this is a sound as likely to indulge in the jagged abrasiveness of Post-Punk as it is the Jangle-Pop that would become more prominent on the band's second album and undisputed masterpiece, Underwater Moonlight. Opening with the bluesy swagger of "Give It to The Soft Boys," what stands out immediately is the dual guitar attack of Hitchcock and Kimberly Rew, which, while certainly echoing a band such as Television, seems to burn along according to its own slightly-skewed logic. The Soft Boys' unique intersection of influences is clearly on display in "Human Music," which reveals their Jangle-Pop roots, but passes this sound through a darker, dirtier, less polished prism that provides a perfect musical context for Hitchcock's Lou Reed-inspired vocals. R.E.M., were you listening? And then there's "Sandra's Having Her Brain Out," an unlikely but brilliant combination of Post-Punk cynicism and Beatlesque vocal harmonies. An album such as A Can of Bees couldn't have been more out of place in 1979, the same year Joy Division released their debut, Unknown Pleasures. And while The Soft Boys' debut garnered barely a murmur commercially, its influence continues to be felt thirty years later.

A Can of Bees 

(Yep Roc ~ 2010/1979 ~ Remastered Edition)

Tracklist-

 1. Give It to The Soft Boys  (2:15)

 2. The Pigworker  (4:33)

 3. Human Music  (4:31)

 4. Leppo and the Jooves  (5:28)

 5. The Rat's Prayer  (3:22)

 6. Do the Chisel  (3:06)

 7. Sandra's Having Her Brain Out  (4:09)

 8. Return of the Sacred Crab  (2:57)

 9. Cold Turkey  (4:20)

10. School Dinner Blues (Live)  (2:24)

11. Wading Through a Ventilator (Live)  (3:58)

MU: Lossy (MP3@320)

MU: Lossless (FLAC)

Invisible Hits  

(Ryko ~ 1993/1983 ~ Remastered & Expanded Edition)

Tracklist-

 1. Wey Wey Hep Uh Hole  (3:29)

 2. Have a Heart, Betty (I'm Not Fireproof)  (2:38)

 3. The Asking Tree  (5:10)

 4. Muriel's Hoof / Rout of the Clones  (4:02)

 5. Let Me Put It Next to You  (1:59)

 6. When I Was a Kid  (5:05)

 7. Rock 'N' Roll Toilet  (3:15)

 8. Love Poisoning  (4:36)

 9. Empty Girl  (4:56)

10. Blues in the Dark  (4:10)

11. He's a Reptile  (4:27)

-Bonus Tracks-

12. Have a Heart, Betty (I'm Not Fireproof) (Alternate Mix)  (2:36)

13. Rock 'N' Roll Toilet (Alternate Mix)  (2:39)

14. When I Was a Kid (Original Mix)  (5:22)

15. Love Poisoning (Original Mix)  (4:35)

16. Wey Wey Hep Uh Hole (Live)  (3:47)

MU: Lossy (MP3@320) 

MU: Lossless (FLAC)