Xtc: Chalkhills and Children

I don't like music, I love it. I recall my aunty playing Beatles songs to me as a 5/6 year old in 1964. My dad loved jazz and my mum introduced me to classical. I could then and now listen to a rich variety. I was so into music I used to be able to discuss minor detail such as whom the engineer was on a specific album, such was my immersion. With music, though, I move on fast. What I once listened to, be that a genre, a specific band or album, I have found myself to be eventually bored with. I can move on from genre to genre quickly and have actually given away many albums I owned either on CD or vinyl. Once used, they took up precious space and time.

With this demand for new sounds to challenge my senses, streaming has been a godsend. But I do admit that I have selectively delved into the occasional listen from the past. I went on a Beatles re-listen and enjoyed it. I tried the Stones and gave up. They have passed me by.

One day I got talking to a fella about the underappreciated bands we had seen live in the past, I recalled XTC at Brisbane's Festival Hall in 1980. This had me thinking how I had most of their albums and a good many singles. I had actually not given these away, but parked them at my sister's place because she had become part of the vinyl craze that seems to have taken off as of late. I recalled how wonderful Drums and Wires was, XTC's third album, was when released and how me and my pals thought it a work of genius. So I played it via Spotify for the first time this century.

It was still fresh and vital to me. Each song is a pop classic, with hooks and licks that went beyond the 3 chord thrash that was so prevalent with a lot of the Punk/New Wave scene of the times. “XTC? They were better than any of that.” I retrospectively decided. So let's go another. Black Sea got a play for the first time since back then. Wow. This is just as good as I recalled. Track after track of sublimely catchy tunes that stick in your head. Next up was English Settlement. I had this on a numbered cassette that I played the hell out of, but again that was a long time ago. This has also stood the test of time, 3 in a row, how good is this! The production values had changed, and the slightly jangly pop was replaced with some really lush Beatles like complexity.

I recall that I did get the next album, Mummer, but never really took to it and failed to purchase The Big Express. Back then, they may have had their time for me? In this present binge of playing these two, they are at times very good but do not seem to have the songwriting panache of the previous trio.

Next came the XTC side project, The Dukes of Stratosphere. I never knew these recordings, but as a lover of Psychedelia, these are terrific. They are an absolute homage to that genre, great fun and hooks galore. At this point, I expected not much more. I had Skylarking, Oranges and Lemons and Nonesuch, but had hardly played them back in the day. Had I purchased them out of loyalty? I couldn't recall. But I thought onwards and upwards, let hear how they sound.

I will state now that Skylarking is a masterpiece of pastoral pop genius, an album of the highest order and stands up with Drums and Wires, Black Sea and English Settlement. Read professional reviews, I have been devouring them for a couple of days now and agree with the praise. There is not a dud song, a dud note, a dull spot. It is for me just perfect. The little things just work, for example how the opening track, Summer's Cauldron segues into the second, Grass, seamlessly.
Interestingly, when I played Oranges and Lemons I had no memory of much of it. Nonsuch I did and think it is a fine album. I do need to give these a play further, as I do their first two recordings. As to the final two albums, Apple Venus Volume 1 and Wasp Star, I have no idea. They are not on any streaming service, and I don't have a vinyl or CD player anymore.

Please excuse my fanboy drivelling above. I am just on an XTC kick and need to tell the world. As this is a book reading review site, I did indeed read Chalkhills and Children when released. I gave it away to a mate, but from memory I enjoyed it a fair bit. Based on the star rating, XTC are a 5 star band, though sadly underappreciated nowadays.

Is this book recommended? From what I recall, yes, if you appreciate XTC. Is their music recommended? If like me, you like snappy jangly pop melodies with snappy hooks and twists and turns then this is the band for you.