Anything Box: Peace

Posted by Luminator (A) on January 11, 2015 at 12:42:16

When the calendar turned to 1990, I heard Bay Area and Monterey radio stations play Anything Box's "Living In Oblivion" just a small handful of times. During this time, I was a freshman at UC Santa Cruz. There, the student body primarily were wannabe hippies. They were into "alternative" forms of music. And then, we had people into dance and rap.

Anything Box's 80s-style synthpop was four years too late. By the time Peace came out, they were passe'.

Perhaps in April or May 1990, I made the short walk from UCSC's Crown College to the on-campus radio station, KZSC. I would peruse the "for sale" bins. There, I found this copy of Anything Box's Peace. I think I purchased it for $5. If you look closely, you can see a hole punch in the barcode.

I took Peace back to my dorm room. I popped it into my Sony D-10 Discman, slapped on the Sony MDR-CD headphones. I dunno; maybe I had an obsession with Anything Box's female, Dania Morales. More likely, I detested the music of 1990, and had a soft spot for Peace's 80s sound and style.

We are always going to have audiophile snobs lambaste this kind of music as "candy-ass," "wussy," and "gay." Ignore them. Clocking in at just under an hour, the 12 songs on Peace only drag in 3-4 spots. If you have a fondness for, say, Depeche Mode and OMD, I think you'll find lot to like on Peace.

To this day, Peace's "When We Lie," "Kiss Of Love," and "Lady In Waiting" remain not just fan favorites, but excellent examples of sweet synthpop.

If you, at your audiophile parties, stores, and shows, have overplayed Depeche Mode, OMD, A-Ha, and New Order, switch to Anything Box. Start with their solid debut album, Peace. "I am so afraid...of living in oblivion..."

The Audiophiles' DJ,
-Lummy The Loch Monster

"Living In Oblivion" (Open in New Window)

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Topic - Anything Box: Peace - Luminator 12:42:16 01/11/15 (1)

One of my all-time faves..especially Living in Oblivion! - popsy 14:26:59 01/11/15 (0)

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