In the last couple of years,
Working for a Nuclear Free City has spread like a mushroom cloud over Britain, raining down a magnificent musical melange across the scene. Hailing from Manchester, the group draw much of their inspiration from both the old baggy and grebo scenes.
Their numbers sport the insouciant pop sensibilities of
Jesus Jones, the rabble-rousing qualities of
Ned's Atomic Dustbin, the abandon of
New Fast Automatic Daffodils, as well as the overwhelming thrill of the
Stone Roses. But that's just for openers, because various post-punks, New Romantics, Krautrockers, hard rockers, space rockers, and dream-poppers, all leave their mark as well. The epic "England, Pt. 2" is
WFANFC's epiphany, a brilliant musical journey through myriad genres and time, folding in elements of British Invasion, '70s rock, post-punk, baggy, electronica, space rock, and even Afro-beat. It's a fabulous variation of "England" itself, a number which drives
New Order straight into billowing soundscape territory. The group pays homage to
New Order's predecessor
Joy Division on "Asleep at the Wheel" and "Donkey." The former subtly takes
Joy Division's sound and makes it as dreamily joyful as their moniker, the latter answers the question what if acid had been Ian Curtis' drug of choice instead of heroin? The equally hard-rocking jam "Eighty Eight" sounds like the evil child of
the Velvet Underground and
the Stooges. And that's what makes
WFANFC so amazing, they can crash and wallop as well as any classic rocker wannabes, then turn around and deliver a perfect dream pop number like "Stone Cold," soar skyward on '60s styled space rock wings of "So," zoom off into the darkwave of "Rocket," or even flit through the haze of the new wave/New Romantic with "The Tree." And all the while they still sound like nothing else out there but themselves. Which is why the group's self-titled, 2006 debut album was a revelation, and their follow-up Rocket EP, equally extraordinary. This two-CD set features the former in its entirety sprinkled across both discs, alongside two tracks from the latter, with rarities and previously unreleased numbers, which nearly doubles the length of the set. It's a splendid introduction to one of Britain's most stunning acts, capturing every side of this multi-faceted gem of a group. ~ Jo-Ann Greene