Mass, Labour of Love (side A)

The English band Mass came between Rema-Rema and the Wolfgang Press, and they released their sole album, Labour of Love, in 1981. It's sonically a bit ahead of its time, with airy high-end and lots of fast compression. The vocals have an obviously dark and Goth-y quality, and the heavy use of chorus and analog delay match this quality as well. While the songs aren't particularly melodic or catchy, there's a strange underlying kinship between Labour of Love and bands like the Swell Maps or the Clean. The splattery, textual parts sound particularly reminiscent of the Swell Maps more abstract pieces. The overtly dark packaging (which was not preserved for the CD reissue?!) reflects the Goth side of the album far more than its punk/indie side, and there's no clear recording or mastering credit for the fine sound quality (perhaps producer Ian Little was also an engineer?).