by Rick Anderson
If a band that combines the shrill hectoring vocal tone of Flux of Pink Indians with the twee atonality of Henry Cow is your cup of tea, then you'll be thrilled to see the CD reissue of the Work 's debut LP. It was originally released in 1982 and sounds it, but that's no criticism -- it's also avant-garde in a very distinctively British way, but that's no criticism either. What is a criticism is the fact that both "Flies" and "State Room" are avant-garde in really rather boring, aimless ways; it's also something of a criticism to say that "Like This" comes across as something that might have been Arnold Schoenberg 's idea of pop music. But "Balance" is both weird and fun, with moments of frenetic polka-like punkiness and moments of strange (and kind of silly) quietude. Catherine Jauniaux 's guest vocals are lots of good, squeaky fun, but ex- » Read more