What You See... Is What You Are

To say this is a vital record of the U.K. punk scene would be an understatement. Band leader Mark Perry was certainly one of the strangest outsiders of the movement who managed to summarize the musical ethos of punk. The editor of Sniffin' Glue magazine was a famed character of the London scene circa '77 before even forming his own group, and when he did, he certainly delivered above and beyond his own high critical and lets say "eclectic" standards. A music fan long before punk, he was certainly one of the few to stand by "hippie" music such as Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa through the Sex Pistols and Clash boom in his own criticism and music. Let's say that throughout the years, from pulling this album on the world, Mark Perry and Alternative TV never really saw a distinction between the act of criticizing and playing. What You See Is What You Are is a bona fide classic of punk rock on a par with any of the "big" names in punk, and strains of this album's influence can be heard in post-punk and hardcore, Oi!, and most notably the lo-fi indie sound of the '80s. Groups such as Yo La Tengo, Pavement, and Sebadoh owe a huge debt to this melodic and often exhilarating melodic punk, and it is hard to think of an album from the era that comes as highly recommended -- let alone one that sounds as fresh more than 20 years later. "You Bastard" is one of John Peel's staples and all-time favorite tracks, and you don't often get higher recommendation then that. ~ Skip Jansen