Section 25: Three recent albums

Section 25 circa 2010

Section 25, maybe more than any band I can name, have had a tough go of it. They spent 30 years trying to shine through the shadow of a dead man's band. In 2004, Jenny Cassidy -- their visual centerpoint, and the whole reason they'd pulled out of a post-punk rut and turned toward something resembling commercialism in the first place -- died of cancer. Earlier this year, the guy who founded the band and wrote all their songs, Larry Cassidy, also entered the funeral home of rock. What's a band to do when both mom and dad are post-punk history? Cry at the cemetery?

No. If you're Section 25, you let death keep you together. 

In the beginning, the trio languished on Factory Records as a less-developed sibling of Joy Division (and later New Order), wiping a nose on a tattered sleeve while nipping at the heels of their musical elders.

I always felt like Section 25 clumsily followed Bernard Sumner of New Order wherever he went. Always three paces behind the band, they still caught up in the end. Occasionally, the kids from Blackpool stumbled upon greatness. Their albums recorded it all -- plenty of stumbling at the beginning, and the great moments in the later years.

To me, the first LP, Always Now, is a rather plodding, grey and gloomier Joy Division without the drama and chaos (or synth). The Key of Dreams, the second Section 25 album -- well, I knew some Deadheads in Boulder who loved it. The 15-minute long "Sutra" is a soft-couched, wall-tapestried bongathon. Imagine a Mancunian musical hookah, as overseen by the ghost of Ian Curtis. 

It wasn't until their third album, 1984's From the Hip, that the band re-tooled its sound to the point I could fully come on board. Drum machines and synths tangled angrily ("Beneath the Blade") or played pastorally ("The Process") but the best tracks were clean, streamlined, heavily sequenced dance-floor stompers. And From the Hip's stunning, Peter Saville-designed cover (left) is still among the 80s most iconic. 

There was the 12"/video for the single "Looking From a Hilltop," with Jenny's plaintive refrain "I just want to see your face/to see your face/to see your face."

That sense of loss and longing -- which certainly echoes Bernard's lyrics from the same era -- was to be continued over Section 25's career, as Larry lost Jenny and then he himself left Bethany behind. It's like Six Feet Under with a disco beat.

And this whole time, they kept putting out non-LP singles that positively killed! My fave here:

To me, this was the sister album to New Order's Power, Corruption, and Lies -- they are that closely related, and anyone who loves the latter should appreciate the former. Acoustic instruments and sweet vocals, sprayed in Pollockian splashes against some bruising electronic rhythms? -- From The Hip does that better than nearly any album that comes to mind.

That classic line-up -- singer/bassist Larry Cassidy, percussionist Lee Shallcross, drummer Vin Cassidy, keyboardist Angela Cassidy, and Larry's wife, singer/keyboardist Jenny Cassidy --  blossomed into a tight touring act. If they'd opened US dates for New Order, who knows what might have happened? Some Partridge Family jokes, I'm guessing.

What did actually transpire is the band completely fell apart attempting to record a fourth album, leaving only Larry and Jenny. But with the help of some Blackpool pals, they pulled Love and Hate out of... somewhere. As patchy as it was, it contains some great material. Then, a final 12-inch, "Bad News Week," snuck out at the very end, causing some weird copyright issues.

And after that, Section 25 just faded away. It appeared that their legacy would stand at four albums. It stayed that way for a long, long time, actually. A live album and a rarities set, of course, filled the gap.

The 90s would also see their back-catalog remastered and out on CD. In the spring of 2001, more than 13 years after Love and Hate closed the door on Section 25, Larry and Vin started wedging it open again. Jenny rejoined. With ex-Tunnelvision guitarist Ian Butterworth on board, things looked like they'd pick up roughly where they left off. 

Jenny and Larry fought so much, though, that the whole thing was scrapped early on. And when she died, six years ago, it appeared that was the final bell. She and Larry had not reconciled when she passed -- something that haunted him til the end.

An instrumental emerged from the wreckage -- a compilation track, "Part Primitiv," and instead of advancing the band's synthetic quest, wouldn't be out of place on Always Now. The caustic guitar/bass squall and the thick drumming immediately evokes the band's earlier days.

A year after Jenny's death, Larry, Vin, and Ian -- with Roger Wikeley on bass and keyboards -- began recording what would become the fifth studio album from Section 25. Which is where Calliope comes in...

Section 25

Part-primitiv

Darla

2007

The aptly named Part-primitiv straddles the chasm that separates the early sound from the techno years. Jenny appears on two tracks. While at first I found this dark and abrasive, I now think it's perhaps the best album Section 25 have ever made. I mean, they sound all grown up. It's kind of like seeing a sloppy, delinquent nephew at a wedding reception and realizing he's cleaned up his act. Really, the backing musicians here -- not to mention Bethany's presence -- up the game substantially. It starts with a mellow instrumental, then goes BAM into a pulse of Larry's old minimal bass sound and him spitting, "Nobody told me the truth about yewww!" for "Can't Let Go." Then you stroll through "Poppy Fields," which really sounds like a hybrid of the old and new eras but is unmistakably Section 25. In the middle of this one, Larry growls, "I really miss my baby ... so much!"

At times, the stridency and that Larry voice -- he seriously couldn't carry a tune in a Ford F-150 -- threaten to derail everything, but his passion is infectious and the musicianship is so much better than the old days. So it works. "Better Make Your Mind Up," though it bites the drum pattern from Tone-Loc's "Wild Thing," is Bethany's chance to shine. It's a sweet, lilting, unexpected techno-pop tune that chugs along satisfyingly. She would make her mom proud right here. It's not the old band at all, but it is Section 25, in the very best sense of the word.

Section 25

Nature & Degree

Darla

2009

For a group responsible for some of the prettiest album covers the world has ever seen, it's a true shame they had to go out with the atrocity that is Nature & Degree. Radiating all the warmth of a COBOL programming manual, whoever designed this ridiculous insult to the band's visual legacy should abandon the field of graphic design -- at birth.

This record is unquestionably more like latter-day Section than its predecessor, though a few guitar snarls are included. More electro, less post-punk. Bookended by the snappy machines of "Pop Idol 1 & 2," the album gets off to a great start a new slashy guitarist and a keyboard chord sequence that immediately recalls the heydays of the past. A squiggle synth riff and Larry's off-key exhortations are perfect. With "We look/from space/its so clear and blue/it's you/I can see you waving" we're back on familiar ground. 

At least two other songs deserve mention, but "l'Arte Du Math," despite stupid lyrics about the greatness of geometry, is the most outwardly musical thing the band have ever done, by virtue of sheer melodicism.

Section 25

Retrofit

Darla

2010

Well, you know, these remix deals can disappoint. But upon the initial iTunes sampling, I was excited. The opportunity to hear new takes on 25-year-old songs is always welcome. Though the cover is much more in league with their earlier design aesthetic, it's still a weak effort, I think. Instead of just layering new noises atop the old track stems, this is Larry, Bethany and the boys completely re-doing the songs and adding new vocals as well. There's one new track, a drum-machine and piano thing that would have fit well on Nature & Degree or Part-primitiv. It's probably the best piece here, as it doesn't ride along on the same house beat that propels the rest. 


Tunes from pretty much every old album are re-worked. Standouts? The dry, crackly "Desert," given a new electro backbone, is nice. Bethany's voice is eerily like her mom's. Likewise with "The Process." Completely worthless is the nine-minute tedium of another "Looking From a Hilltop" remix.


Far better, I thought, is Are XXX, a rare (but downloadable) collection of Peel Sessions, unfinished sketches, and demos from the band's vault. Some really, really nice stuff on there.


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At this unfortunate juncture, just as the band were staging a cool comeback of sorts, Larry went and died from a blood clot in March of this year. Despite the fact that Section 25 were effectively decapitated -- missing their founding member, primary songwriter, singer and leader -- they wisely decided to save the towel-throwing to amateurs. They still perform, with Bethany as lead singer, a pretty cool arrangement considering that her parents -- who absolutely were this band -- are in the ground. With that DNA at work, how can they lose?

(Copyright 2010 by Jeffrey Charles Stratton. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.)