(The Gospel According To) The Meninblack

Controversy surrounds The Stranglers\' fifth LP: a peculiar 1981 concept album that\'s either one birthplace of the goth movement or the moment when this punk-aligned group imitated the excesses of the prog-rock bands that punks openly mocked. Singer Hugh Cornwall says it\'s his favorite Stranglers album. Taking his endorsement under advisement, it\'s easy to hear why he\'d feel this way. The album was recorded in multiple studios with multiple producers and features early experiments with synthesizer loops, which yield positive results throughout the album. Highlights include the maniacal instrumental \"Waltzinblack\" (a fave of British TV chef Keith Floyd, who used it as the opening theme to his TV series) and \"Second Coming,\" where the harmonies sound derived from math equations. \"Four Horsemen\" creates a song out of elusive keyboard patterns that come close to clashing but never do. \"Thrown Away,\" as bassist Jean Jacques Burnel claims, is the sound of techno in its earliest form. A bold, daring work.