Wheel In the Roses

Chronique

Rema-Rema's Wheel in the Roses was the first release of original material on 4AD proper, following four singles on precursor Axis and a re-press of AXIS 3, Bauhaus' "Dark Entries." Issued post-breakup, as various members headed off for a series of near and distant destinations including Adam and the Ants, Mass and Wolfgang Press, Dorothy and Psychic TV, and Renegade Soundwave, the 1980 EP is significant for more than its early role in a major subcultural force. Label co-founder Ivo Watts-Russell considered it a turning point, and little contact is needed to understand its relevance to the post-punk era at large. Split between studio and live recordings, this is chock-full of delightfully sludgy rhythms with piercing synthesizer and pell-mell piano, variably taut-riffing and squalling guitar, and shared vocals that simultaneously project agony, threat, and humor at sliding magnitudes. "Feedback Song" sets it off with a comic-horror introduction leading to a trudge that picks up slightly halfway through, only to slow back down, allowing Gary Asquith to resume hectoring with a carnival barker-style cadence. More animated is "Rema-Rema" itself -- a pummeling and unintelligible invocation of some sort, the era's "Louie Louie." The B-side is live, evident only with one faint hint of appreciation, instantly drowned out by a shock of noise and a droll "Welcome" from the stage. "Instrumental," a death disco number with words ("You kicked me right between the eye," etc.), developed out of the band's attempt at covering the very different Dr. Who theme. Ending the EP is the crawling ballad "Fond Affections," its electric jolts made all the more startling by a considered directness regarding a separation. [Wheel in the Roses was re-pressed in 1984 and issued on compact disc in 2003. Fond Reflections, released in 2019, contained its four songs among an assortment of material recorded at gigs and rehearsals].
© Andy Kellman /TiVo