On Any Normal Monday

The early \'80s were an interesting time for pop music. Home recording studios were extremely primitive, and the world itself was a much larger place than now; there was no easily accessible Internet to shrink the distance between small-town kids in different countries. This was the context of these early DIY recordings of the fabulous songwriter Martin Newell. They\'re lower fidelity than many of his later works recorded in professional studios, yet the watery sound of the guitars, the unvarnished bass tracks, and the haphazardly recorded drums make for songs that sound like transmissions from a civilization long lost. The spacy near-reggae and spoken word of \"Tukani (Monday Is Grey)\" is captivatingly strange, while the pure pop of \"Night Starvation,\" \"I Can\'t Stop Holding On,\" and \"Living on Nerve Ends\" show Soft Boys/Ray Davies/XTC/Syd Barrett influences. Fans of creative songwriting and inventive home recording techniques will fall in love with these inspired tracks. There\'s even a rerecording of the excellent \"Marilyn on a Train,\" a highlight of the previous album, *Blow Away Your Troubles*.

Cleaners From Venus, the lo-fi pop project of the English musician Martin Newell, offered a mix of rough edges, distanced vocals, definite hooks, and unexpected mixing choices. This box set features the first three 1980s cassette-only efforts with liner notes, flyers, buttons, and unreleased tracks and photos.

Discover On Any Normal Monday by Cleaners from Venus released in 1982. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.