Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Perfect Skin

Although Cole himself is English he formed Lloyd Cole & The Commotions with Scottish musicians whilst studying in Glasgow and released three albums with the band before going solo. The first of these, Rattlesnakes, is among the best records of the 80's, and "Perfect Skin" (1984) in its namedropping finery is such a memorable debut single it's no wonder the band did pretty well. They were a kind of clever, major label answer to The Smiths, but without the consistent quality. Easy Pieces, the follow-up album to Rattlesnakes, was quite poor, and although they did better with third effort Mainstream, it's their debut that really stands out. The ten songs on it are faultless.

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