Although the early to mid 1980’s have been retrogressively airbrushed with neon blues and pinks, for many of us that decade was coloured with shades of monochrome. It was an age of industrial decline, skinhead riots and growing economic inequality, all taking place under the threat of nuclear annihilation. Thankfully, such conditions are the incubator for great art, and that’s exactly where Romeo Void step in. Born from the San Francisco post-punk scene in 1979, they were definitely a product of their age, and had a twisted sound that blended new wave, dance and free form jazz into songs that were both cerebral and insanely catchy, and Live ‘81-’85 is testament to the band’s live prowess.

This is not the first Romeo Void live album that Liberation Hall have released, having issued the excellent Live From Mabuhay Gardens (reviewed here), yet Live ‘81-’85 feels far more representative. Clocking in at over 79 minutes, it’s running time mirrors that of a Romeo Void set, and despite being assembled from four different concerts, it flows like an actual gig, too. However, the first seven songs are culled from a 1982 gig in Michigan and finds the band in the full flush of youth, having found their signature sound Romeo Void rock it with confidence. Opening tracks don’t come much more potent than ‘In The Dark’, and four decades have done nothing to diminish its power. In fact, tracks such as ‘Shake The Hands Of Time’ still sound way ahead of the curve; like Copploa’s interpretation of Rumble Fish, it’s at once familiar and futuristic, as if beamed to the present from an age yet to come.

The secret to Romeo Void’s magic was undoubtedly the way the band interacted, being five individual characters who became a unified whole. Saxophonist Benjamin Bossi was an integral component, yet he didn’t feel the need to scrawl his sound on every surface, with a less-is-more ethic, he would appear at optimum moments, and was all the more powerful for it. Likewise, on ‘White Sweater’ guitarist Peter Woods is content to play behind the beat, allowing the rhythm section to dictate the pace and it’s exactly the right decision for the song. There’s a shared lack of ego which not only gives each musician space, but creates space in songs like ‘S.O.S.’ into which the listener can infer their own meaning, and that makes for a shared experience. Many comparisons were drawn between Romeo Void vocalist Debora Iyall and Blondie’s Debbie Harry, but that’s as lazy as comparing Robert Plant with Steve Marriott. Sure, they’re both singers with a similar range, but any correlation would only detract from Debora’s originality. In tune with the band’s aesthetic, Debora doesn’t feel the need to constantly fill space with words, yet she manages to shade each of these seventeen songs in a different hue.

Like a “best of”, only with the oomph of being played live, this album only compounds the riddle as to why Romeo Void never sustained mainstream success. Yet, they had a sound that was built for the long haul and Live ‘81-’85 is not only of those times, but for all time.

• Live ‘81-’85 is released via Liberation Hall and is available now (from here).

Track List:

1. In The Dark *
2. Flashflood *
3. Shake The Hands Of Time *
4. Not Safe *
5. Undercover Kept *
6. White Sweater *
7. S.O.S. *
8. Never Say Never *
9. I Mean It **
10. Billy’s Birthday ***
11. Just Too Easy ****
12. Say No ***
13. Instincts ****
14. A Girl In Trouble (Is A Temporary Thing) ***
15. Out On My Own ***
16. Six Days And One ***
17. Chinatown ***

* Ann Arbor, Michigan, Second Chance, 25th October 1982

** Albany, New York, J.B. Scott’s, 2nd July 1981

*** Berlin, Germany, The Loft, 5th February 1985

**** London, England, The Marquee, 29th January 1985