Pop-Eyes
1983 studio album by Danielle Dax
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Pop-Eyes is the first solo album by Danielle Dax, an English experimental musician and former member of the Lemon Kittens. It was originally recorded in autumn 1982 and released on 22 April 1983 on the Awesome Records label.
Mixed at Phoenix Studio 15-17 November 1982[2]
| Pop-Eyes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 22 April 1983[1] | |||
| Recorded | Autumn 1982 at Tanglewood & Fortress Dax Mixed at Phoenix Studio 15-17 November 1982[2] | |||
| Label | Awesome Records | |||
| Producer | Danielle Dax | |||
| Danielle Dax chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
Dax wrote and produced all the songs on the album as well as playing the guitar, drums, bass, flute, keyboards, banjo, tenor & soprano saxophones, trumpet, tapes, drone guitar, TR-808, toys and voices.[2] The original "Meat Harvest" artwork for Pop Eyes was also created and compiled by Dax during January 1981 and proved to be too shocking for some in the music industry. It was later replaced with artwork created by Holly Warburton. Warburton's artwork can be found in most of Dax's early works.
The album was re-released in 1992 on the Biter of Thorpe label (BOT131-01CD) and distributed through World Serpent Distribution.
Reception
Music Week reviewed the album after it was re-released in May 1985, noting that it had "not tarnished with the passing of time" and had "a refreshing and unpredictable blend of folk, ethnic and pop forms".[4]
In a review for AllMusic, Michael Jourdan described the album as "idiosyncratic" and noted how "Dax puts odd musical bedfellows – from Middle Eastern percussion to doo wop vocals – next to each other in combinations that should clash, but instead complement each other nicely". He noted the "Arabic-flavored" opening song "Bed Caves" and the "absurd yet eerie" "Here Come the Harvest Buns".[3]
In a retrospective look at Dax's career for the magazine Trouser Press, Ira Robbins and Andrea 'Enthal praised the "amazingly recorded" Pop-Eyes and singled out the song "Here Come the Harvest Buns" which "bounces with perky electronic keyboard percussion, triangle and bottle plinks" while managing to "[disguise] its dark message to cheating spouses".[5]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Danielle Dax.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bed Caves" | 3:14 |
| 2. | "Everyone Squeaks Gently" | 3:36 |
| 3. | "The Wheeled Wagon" | 5:51 |
| 4. | "The Stone Guest" | 1:59 |
| 5. | "Here Come the Harvest Buns" | 3:00 |
| 6. | "The Shamemen" | 3:44 |
| 7. | "Kernow" | 4:18 |
| 8. | "Numb Companions" | 3:59 |
| 9. | "Tower of Lies" | 2:49 |
| 10. | "Cutting the Last Sheaf" | 3:12 |
Release history
| Country | Date | Format | Label | Cat. No. | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 22 April 1983 | LP | The Initial Recording Company | IRC 009 | [1] |
| May 1985 | LP (Alternate Artwork) | Awesome Records | AOR 2 | [6] | |
| 29 December 1992 | CD | Biter of Thorpe | BOT 131-01 CD | [7] | |
| Japan | 27 June 2012 | CD (Mini-LP replica sleeve) | Hayabusa Landings | HYCA-2057 | [8] |
