Essential Logic, Beat Rhythm News (side A)

Because of Lora Logic's connection to X-Ray Spex's straightforward bluntness, Essential Logic will always be loosely associated with the most primitive musical elements of punk rock.  While Essential Logic were capable of duplicating the manic energy of "Oh Bondage! Up Yours!", their songs painted with a broader palette.  Dynamic and tempo shifts were common in their through-composed songs, and overtly catchy sections alternated with subtler melodies.  1979's Beat Rhythm News still fits into the punk era with pulsing energy and often-frantic drums, but the song structures have grown even more fragmented than on some of the group's singles.  Where other arty bands of the punk and post-punk world, especially in England, relied heavily on effects like chorus and delay in their mixes, Essential Logic largely eschewed these timbres for a simpler mix aesthetic.  The simplistic but jarring cover nicely illustrates the musical combination of chaos with an autodictat's approach to musicianship.