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Selection: Chrome - Half Machine Lip Moves

Chrome - Half Machine Lip Moves (1979)



Half Machine Lip Moves was included in a ballot by Alan Stephen. These are his words on the record, followed by mine.

Alan: A landmark. I could have picked either this or Alien Soundtracks - not least because there was a twofer cd release which would probably have been higher if eligible. Famous fans like Prong and Celtic Frost might prefer later albums (like 3rd From The Sun in particular) but the fried psych and tortured industrial squalls and percussion on these two set them alone at the time and since. Topped off with an entirely singular production style that obscures more than it reveals, this was such a huge record in Edinburgh that more than one band covered You’ve Been Duplicated (including the immense Varikose Veins) and it was an absolute floor-filler at certain clubs. David Yow thinks they’re his favourite band. You should listen to him. 

Joe: Where have Chrome been all my life? Well, one of their songs that's on a compilation in my collection has been with me for a few years, and I've been inching towards checking the band out throughout that time. Thanks for forcing the issue Alan!

A lot of this album sounds noisier than the tight krautrock groove of that track ('Eyes in the Center') and the production is significantly more lo-fi. The Flaming Lips called a compilation of their earliest material 'Finally the Punk Rockers Are Taking Acid' but I'm afraid Chrome got there before you Wayne. Not space rock but space punk. The bizarre audio collages prefigure the Butthole Surfers too.

I'm sure plenty would consider this a noisy and unpolished sonic nightmare but it tickled my brain just fine. Groovy.
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