What the critics say:
"The band's studious devotion to Northern post-punk psychedelia is truly something to behold. They sound more like a Factory band now than they did while on the label. Joy Division and early New Order are the guiding lights, the ghost of Martin Hannett hangs over the faders." (The Scotsman 18/3/00)
Very smart. Clearly it took some effort to rise out of the Factory mk.1 demise and effectively start again (transpotters note the rear sleeve nod to their history), but they've delivered a nice follow-up. The opening track 'Welcome' is cracking - surely a single. And 'Unpainted' smacks of the jangly Gobbledygook sound - very distinctive. Jeremy Kerr of ACR is name checked on this track, although I can't detect a particular influence. They have even taken it to cover Can's 'Yoo Do Right' with justice! I like this CD. On the surface it's a darker selection than 'Gobbledygook'. 'Dean Martin's Hangover' rates as the best trackname of the year so far :). 'In a Long Time' uses a nice reverb on a repeated lyric over a persistent track which reminded me of a modernised Section 25 for some reason, but there you go... Enough Factory references! Its the band that always interested me, and Starshaped seems a nice place to be. In my personal preferred space of electronic music, there are a couple of bass/guitar/drum bands that always managed to break through - due to having something unique to deliver - and the Wendys was and is one of them. Cheers lads, I hope it works for you. Keep it up. Dennis (Review by Dennis Remmer of 'the Factory Records Discography ' http://listen.to/factory/)