This Kind of Punishment, In the Same Room / 5 by 4 (sides C and D)

This double vinyl reissue, from 1993, combines the final two This Kind of Punishment releases.  1985's 5 by 4 was an EP, followed by the full-length In the Same Room in 1987.  5 by 4, which fills sides C and D at 45 RPM, is the group's most diverse and least representative work.  This Kind of Punishment focused on songs that coupled raw, slightly noisy arrangements with dark, post-punk melodies.  The music generally had a bit of a sad feel, especially from the Jefferies brothers' rich baritone vocals.  5 by 4 stretches the group's ideas out to extremes, as opposed to their usual experiments with combining them.  One song feels like recited poetry over a soundscape—it reminds me of the Shadow Ring's work a decade later.  The opening "Mr. Tic Toc" is far more aggressive than the group's usual fare, so it bears a closer resemblance to contemporaries like Australia's SPK.  Other songs feature more 60s informed melodies that Graham Jefferies relied on more when he started the Cakekitchen.  Little attention was paid to the mastering of these lo-fi recordings, so the track volumes vary drastically.  The packaging of the reissue is impressive, with a gatefold of really thick cardboard that's glossy on all sides (including the back that only faces the record).