One record at a time: 147. Front 242 - Geography

Front 242 are true pioneers of electronic music. In fact, they were such visionaries that a new genre had to be invented just to describe their sound. Today, anyone who creates music that even vaguely resembles that of the Belgian masters will labelled as Electronic Body Music (EBM).

I first became aware of Front 242 in 1990 when a friend made me a 'best of' cassette using some CDs he had borrowed. I loved almost every track on that tape and was most intrigued by the material taken from their debut LP "Geography".

Here I am playing a remastered red vinyl from 2016 which came with a free CD and was supposedly limited to 242 copies.

Things kick off with one of the best cuts the band ever produced: "Operating Tracks". The bass on this track pulses from ear to ear as Jean-Luc's growls his largely incomprehensible lyrics. When I first got access to the internet in the late nineties I began looking up the lyrics of many Front 242 songs and realised that the real words bore little resemblance to my interpretation. Sometimes the romance of a misheard lyric is much more valuable that being precise; so I still sing along with my version and accuracy be damned.

The next three tracks are largely instrumental affairs composed of distorted white noise snares and distinctly analogue synth patches that remind me of The Future and early recordings by The Human League. Things kick up again with the excellent "U-Men" which has an irresistible bassline and a great hook. As there are only two repeated verses this track is done and dusted in a little over three minutes 

"Dialogues" is more analogue instrumental fun but "Least Inkling" resurrects the pulsating bass sequences and brooding vocals. The next track "GVDT" feels brighter due to its melodic vocal but the chorus becomes chaotic and transforms the song into something more daring. "Geography I" is a strange track as it has no kick drum and the vocals are mere mumbles. "Black White Blue" is a fast paced and strangely hypnotic instrumental that must have been pushing the boundaries in 1982. 

Strangely the closing track "Kampfbereit" plods along at 97 beats per minute and is sung in German. The TR-808 seems to emerge more prominently for this closing number and, as good as this song is, it feels a bit out of place on here. 

Still, this is an enjoyable album for anyone who has even a passing interest in early eighties electronic music. Despite its relatively experimental nature, this record somehow remains accessible and even in its quirkiest moments it still has the ability to make people dance. 4/5