Contenders
Studio album by
Easterhouse
Released1986
GenreIndie rock
LabelRough Trade Records[1]
Columbia Records[2]
Easterhouse chronology
In Our Own Hands EP
(1985)		 Contenders
(1986)		 Inspiration EP
(1986)

Contenders is the debut album by the English indie rock band Easterhouse, released in 1986.[3][4]

The album peaked at No. 91 on the UK Albums Chart.[5]

Production

The album's songs were cowritten by brothers Andy and Ivor Perry; many reflect the band's support for the Revolutionary Communist Party.[2][6] Contenders was Easterhouse's only album that included their original lineup.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Robert ChristgauB[9]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]

Robert Christgau deemed the album "mostly uniform arena-jangle."[9] Trouser Press thought that "the music is both melodic and muscular, lending authority to Andy's regret-tinged broadsides."[12] The Los Angeles Times called Easterhouse "a dyed-in-the-wool guitar band [that] sports a big, messy, passionate sound that layers lots of shining guitar lines over incessant, often monochromatic rhythms."[13] The Philadelphia Inquirer opined that the "well-intentioned English leftist Easterhouse makes unappealing propaganda with florid images ... stentorian vocals and turgid melodies."[10]

The New York Times opined that Contenders "offers a thoughtful critique of Britain's Labor Party, charging that it sold out working peoples' interest when in power and doesn't offer a viable alternative to Thatcherism ... The music, all barbed-wire guitars and rolling rhythms, isn't as doctrinaire as the lyrics; it's frequently compelling."[14] Spin concluded that "the band generates an atmosphere of mysticism that puts Easterhouse closer in spirit to the melancholy of Joy Division than the Revolution Rock postures of the Clash or their acolytes."[15] The Sydney Morning Herald stated: "True, you'd hide from these serious young men at a party, but their intensity helps make this one of the most inspirational debut LPs of the year."[16]

AllMusic wrote that "Perry's voice is buried beneath the mix; consequently, his political lyrics are not always intelligible, draining them of the power they probably had on paper."[8] The Rolling Stone Album Guide thought that "the band's hardline leftist politics ... are about the only thing that makes them distinctive."[11]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Out on Your Own" 
2."Whistling in the Dark" 
3."Nineteen Sixty Nine" 
4."Cargo of Souls" 
5."Lenin in Zurich" 
6."Get Back to Russia" 
7."To Live Like This" 
8."The Boy Can Sing" 
9."Estates" 
10."Inspiration" 
11."Easter Rising" 
12."Johnny I Hardly Knew You" 

References

  1. ↑ Young, Rob (November 29, 2006). Rough Trade. Black Dog Publishing. ISBN 9781904772477 – via Google Books.
  2. 1 2 "Post-Punk and Pro-Labor Party". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  3. ↑ "Easterhouse Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  4. ↑ Griffin, John (9 Oct 1986). "Easterhouse - Contenders". The Gazette. p. C9.
  5. ↑ "EASTERHOUSE | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  6. ↑ Stott, Paul (2016). "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction: two responses on the British left to the rise of identity politics–the cases of Class War and Red Action". Twentieth Century Communism. 9 (9): 98. doi:10.3898/175864316815923542.
  7. 1 2 Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 202.
  8. 1 2 "Contenders - Easterhouse | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  9. 1 2 "Robert Christgau: CG: Easterhouse". www.robertchristgau.com.
  10. 1 2 Tucker, Ken (23 Nov 1986). "EASTERHOUSE Contenders". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. H3.
  11. 1 2 The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 219.
  12. ↑ "Easterhouse". Trouser Press. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  13. ↑ "EASTERHOUSE: PASSIONATELY POLITICAL". Los Angeles Times. Calendar. 7 Dec 1986. p. 67.
  14. ↑ Palmer, Robert (October 15, 1986). "THE POP LIFE; ARE BRITISH BANDS BETTER OR IN BUSINESS BIASED?". The New York Times.
  15. ↑ Watson, Don (Oct 1986). "Burning Down the Easterhouse". Spin. 2 (7): 14.
  16. ↑ Barber, Lynden (October 6, 1986). "Easterhouse: Contenders". The Sydney Morning Herald. The Guide. p. 4.
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