Yello, Solid Pleasure (side A)

It sounds so radically different from their radio hit "Oh Yeah", it's hard to believe it's only 5 years earlier in 1980. Solid Pleasure was Yello's debut, their first of two albums on the Residents' Ralph Records label. A bit neue deutsche welle and a bit Residents absurdity, but it's probably not as overwhelming as Der Plan in the end. Der Plan was a bit more emphatic and confident sounding, while Yello had a bit of an indie humility that almost seems like a precursor to Bügsküll? Solid Pleasure contains some great songs (including the single "Bimbo" that opens the album) but it's not quite consistent throughout (despite the title). The iconic cover image is pretty great.