David Thomas & the Pedestrians, The Sound of the Sand & Other Songs of the Pedestrian (side A)

The Sound of the Sand dates from 1981, after Pere Ubu's The Art of Walking.  The strangest thing about it is its large cast.  In addition to both Pere Ubu drummers (it was made during the transition), the album involves Philip Moxham (Young Marble Giants), Richard Thompson, 2 members of Henry Cow, and the guy who played trumpet on "Got to Get You into My Life" (Eddie Thornton).  The rotating cast somehow ended up even making a song without Thomas on it for this album—an Anton Fier instrumental titled "The Crickets in the Flats".  The songs with Thomas have an almost circus-like quality—they're bouncy with energy and subtly angular melodies.  The sound is typically bright for the new wave era of the early 80s, but the bass does come through.  The cover image and design are fairly perplexing.