Honeymoon Suite – New Girl Now B/W It’s Your Heart
I’ve been spending a lot of my week in a recent over due book order “Dust & Grooves”. An amazing 435 page collection of images, stories and interviews with vinyl junkies from around the world. I highly recommend it. Long story short. A lot of the insanely large record collection featuring everything from genre classics to the oddball and obscure. Something about the book drew me to a nearby box of 45′ rpm records that I rarely listen to or go near. In the early to mid 80’s, before moving on to my obsession with Punk and Hardcore 7′ EP’s. I accumulated about two boxes worth of 45’s. They were cheap, pre CD singles, Pre I-tunes way of taking a bite out of the new single you were already hearing too, too often of on your local FM station. While many had the simple oval cut which allowed you to view the title. Many featured what you would normally see on an LP. A full 7 inches of eye candy that drew the eyes closer. The more eye catching. The better the chance of investing part of your hard earned allowance.
Hmm, this isn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I like the nice thump that opens “New Girl Now”. The overall feel is very early 80’s MTV friendly. The band seems a bit unsure if their going to go for the New Wave or commercial Hard Rock vibe. Regardless, they’ve invested a good amount of their up front cash in Aqua Net and Bandana stock. A dash of Night Ranger. A pinch of Loverboy and perhaps a precursor to Hair Metal. I can see a lot of suit and tie record execs snorting cocaine off their briefcases in signing them. Less than a minute in and I’ve come to the conclusion this is flat out awful. I can see them playing on a boat in an episode of Miami Vice or better yet, getting an endorsement deal with Members Only apparel. The record itself is in almost pristine condition. Perhaps from years of being ignored, or properly stored. In closing, I must say. The cover is pretty awesome. Personally, I think it was wasted on Honeymoon Suite. I think the image would look delicious on a Divinyls single or album. I like the way it conveys the excess and utter nonsense that was radio friendly music of the 80’s. Well done. Well done indeed. ** J.D.
Year; 1983
Format; 45′ Single
Label; Warner Bros.
document fanzine 