XTC – English Settlement (1982)

The final time I saw XTC was at Sheffield University in May 1981, where as a student who had helped them set up, I was allowed into the soundcheck, where I first heard a couple of these songs, which would be released the following year. Less than 3 weeks later, they would play their last ever UK show before Andy Partridge's stage fright got the better of him in Paris in March 1982.

They never toured this album in UK, but it was their only top ten UK album, yielding their only top ten UK single. Black Sea had made number 1 in New Zealand, but in those days, playing a couple of gigs there and selling a few dozen copies achieved that.

For some reason, I didn't buy it at the time. I had moved away for a new job, and was without a record player for most of that year, so didn't bother until quite a bit later. Like all my XTC albums, I've replaced it on CD, and this is the 2001 remastered re-release.

It's a fine collection of songs, but it's hard not to consider whether a double album was necessary. Would fewer, shorter versions have made more impact? Still, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, it fits onto a single CD for us to enjoy. I sometimes get the feeling that Colin Moulding's songs are a little more derivative and less inventive than Partridge's, but not on this album, which opens with two of his, the gentle, sad Runaways, followed by the much livelier Ball And Chain, a pair of songs as strong as anything he wrote. This sets the bar high for Partridge and he doesn't disappoint, with the fantastic hit single Sense Working Overtime, before part one ends with the jangly, flowing Jason And The Argonauts.

Part two is straight in with the narrative tale of suburban conflict No Thugs In Our House, loud and powerful, then it's down a notch on the frantic knob for the peaceful Yacht Dance (special mention for Dave Gregory's classical guitar work), and the first half ends with All Of A Sudden, a slower song, which at first feels like a bit of a plod, but as it goes on, worms its way into the brain. At this point I'm thinking that this as a single album might have been a 5* contender, even if a little short , under 30 minutes.

Part three, to me, is nothing like as strong, feeling far more rhythmic and less melodic. Melt The Guns is the first example of this, not a bad song, but a step down from what preceded it, Leisure is jaunty but ordinary, It's Nearly Africa feels confused, and this side ends with Knuckle Down, a pleasant Partridge pun, which possibly carries on the theme started on No Thugs.

The final part kicks off much brighter, with Moulding's Fly On The Wall, similar in feel to Paul Weller's Girl On The Phone, and that mood continues with the ska-themed Down In The Cockpit, a song I tend to forget about but always feels welcome when it arrives. Moulding's final contribution is English Roundabout, a bouncy, infectious number, before the finale, Snowman, a jerky Partridge performance, which amid the yelps and clipped vocals has a particular beauty.

Many think this album is XTC's high point, and commercially, they're probably right. There's no doubt that this is a fantastic album. But who could foresee the coming years, and what they could produce freed from the shackles of having to perform live?

Link to album tracks

4* - a great album from a band at their commercial peak, with so many fantastic songs.