Pleasure

by Girls at Our Best!

Overview

Leeds post-punk band Girls at Our Best! were active from 1979 until 1982, going through a series of personnel changes and a name change and leaving behind a handful of EPs, singles, and their sole long-player, 1981's Pleasure. While the group touched on the churning punk-funk of bands like the Bush Tetras and Delta 5, the arty dissonance of the Raincoats and Siouxsie and the Banshees, and the swaggering grooves of the Slits, they had a pop core that often put them more into the new wave bracket than their punk contemporaries. The abrasive guitars, caffeinated tempo, and jerky movements of "Getting Nowhere Fast," their breakout 1980 single and one of their best songs, all speak to the punk side of the band, but there's still a marriage of melody and energy. It's important to note that "Getting Nowhere Fast" wasn't included on the original 1981 issue of Pleasure, but made it onto most subsequent reissues. Beyond that brilliant standout, GaOB! explored dirge-like disco on "Heaven," sing-song synth pop on "Politics!" (Thomas Dolby assists with synthesizer parts on Pleasure), and even a weird and wandering take on metallic anarcho-punk with "Warm Girls." Even the harshest moments of Pleasure hold a sense of carefree joy and curiosity that were absent from most of the dreary post-punk happening in the early '80s. The band even brings in a clarinet for the jangly, happy-go-lucky "Fun-City Teenagers." Pleasure doesn't fit neatly into any single category, but instead twists various disparate styles and ideas to fit its vision. Girls at Our Best! used the album as an outlet for unfettered discovery and creation, and the end result is one of the more joyful and exciting documents to come out of the U.K. punk scene of their time. ~ Fred Thomas

Product Details

Release Date:	06/30/2023
Label:	Radiation Reissues
UPC:	8055515234893

Tracks

1. Pleasure
2. Too Big for Your Boots
3. I'm Beautiful Now
4. Waterbed Babies
5. Fun-City Teenagers
6. £600,000
7. Heaven
8. China Blue
9. Fast Boyfriends
10. She Flipped
11. Goodbye to That Jazz

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Girls at Our Best!   Primary Artist
James Alan   Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Judy Evans   Vocals
Gerard Swift   Bass,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Dave Fishel   Piano,Keyboards,Harpsichord
Rod Johnson   Drums
Rod Berriedale Johnson   Drums
Chris Oldroyd   Drums
Alan Wakeman   Clarinet
Thomas Dolby   Synthesizer
Carl Harper   Drums
Alan James   Vocals,Guitar
Paul Simon   Drums

Technical Credits

Girls at Our Best!   Producer
James Alan   Composer,Group Member
Judy Evans   Composer,Group Member
Darren Carl Harper   Composer
Gerard Swift   Composer,Group Member
Laurence Diana   Producer
Chris Oldroyd   Composer
Joanna Gaffney   Composer
Darren Harper   Composer
Jeremy Pritchatt   Composer
Christopher Oldroyd   Composer
Carl Harper   Composer
Flood   Engineer
Paul Simon   Producer
Traditional   Composer