1987's
Code, co-produced by On-U Sound mastermind
Adrian Sherwood, finds
Cabaret Voltaire at their loosest and most accessible. Though its subject matter remains dark and paranoid, in sound
Code is the closest thing
CV ever made to a party record. Aided perhaps by
Sherwood's rhythmic expertise, it achieved a genuine mechanistic funkiness reminiscent of late-'70s
Kraftwerk. That didn't necessarily endear it, of course, to fans of
the Cabs' harsher, more challenging material. Many of them dismissed
Code as lightweight, but the rest of us can find much to enjoy here. "Sex, Money, Freaks" answers the eternal question, What would it sound like if
Roger Troutman of
Zapp joined
Cabaret Voltaire? "Trouble (Won't Stop)" dips one toe into the blues, with harmonica making a surprising appearance and
Bill Nelson providing atmospheric guitar.
Code's most memorable song, though, is "Here to Go," a hook-laden and bass-heavy concoction that offers the paradoxical advice, "Sharpen up, relax/ Lighten up, get serious/ Stick with it, sit back/ Live with it, commit yourself." ~ Bill Cassel