XTC - Nonsuch

The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead - 3
My Bird Performs - 3
Dear Madam Barnum - 3
Humble Daisy - 4
The Smartest Monkeys - 4
The Disappointed - 3
Holly Up On Poppy - 3
Crocodile - 3
Rook - 4
Omnibus - 4
That Wave - 3
Then She Appeared - 3
War Dance - 4
Wrapped In Grey - 3
The Ugly Underneath - 3
Bungalow - 4
Books Are Burning - 3
Total - 57 stars / 17 tracks = 3.35 stars, normalized to 3.5 stars

XTC is like... well, they're like... I really don't know what to call XTC. It feels like they are a band that gets an idea in their head of what would make a good song, so they go ahead and do it, regardless of any concerns for consistency or normalcy.

For example, "Humble Daisy" feels like an inoffensive Beach Boysy pop track, but it's immediately followed by "The Smartest Monkeys" a scathing ironic lambaste of economic inequality and human arrogance. And that's what you get with this album. Sometimes it's fluff, sometimes it's challenging, but it's all done with a musical confidence that assures you that it's okay to listen to what they're trying to tell you, since they've got the musical stuff all taken care of. It's rare that you can feel whimsy on the same album that makes you want to burn down a bank, but there you have it.