Four Stars

Released in 1980, the Four Stars compilation captures the sound of Wellington’s post-punk scene.

Recently, the underground bands of Wellington seem to have flourished. Despite an almost total lack of venues, these groups have continued to play. Occasionally, as in the case of Shoes This High, they venture north. The majority, however, choose to remain in the capital, and accept what little work they can get. **** is the combined effort of these bands: Like in the Fridge Exists!, Wallsockets, Naked Spots Dance, and the Beat Rhythm Fashion. All have two things in common a sparse sound and a militant stance.

Opening the first side are Life In The Fridge Exists!. They have three songs, of which ‘Have You Checked the Children?’ is the best; a medium tempo rocker with good lyrical ideas. ‘First Death Take’ resembles the worst of Toy Love, while ‘Peter the D’ is an unnecessary piece of total boredom buried in noise.

Wallsockets (what death threat, Phil?) have some interesting moments in their four songs, but somehow they don’t come off as well as might be hoped. ‘Snerl’ has a great melody, but is let down by the words. ‘Euthenasia’ and ‘Blue Meanie’ just need tidying up, but ‘H & C’ is almost past tidying. Naked Spots Dance also get four tracks, two of which are wasted on the dumb ‘Banana Baby’ and ‘Secrets’. Their other two, however, more than make up for them. ‘Crescendo/Circle Moon’ shows plenty of promise, and ‘Subtractions’ comes close to being highlight of the album.

That honour goes to Beat Rhythm Fashion. With only two songs, they have to make it count. ‘None in the Universe’ is excellent with a riff in the Swingers mode. It grabs hold and doesn’t let go. Not Necessary’ is slightly messy, but still shows great potential. Due to economics, only two hundred copies of **** were pressed. All have been snapped up, and hopes are high for a second pressing. My major criticism is the low-budget mix. There is no way that **** could be deemed a great album, maybe not even a good album, but it does show how a little initiative, and plenty of enthusiasm can overturn any barriers in the way of bands who want to make records.

Mark Phillips

Rip It Up, Issue 41, 1 December 1980, Page 14

Tracklist

• A1: Life In The Fridge Exists – Have You Checked The Children
• A2: Wallsockets – H&C
• A3: Naked Spots Dance – Secrets
• A4: Beat Rhythm Fashion – None In The Universe
• A5: Wallsockets – Euthenasia
• A6: Naked Spots Dance – Crescendo/ Circle Moon
• A7: Wallsockets – Blue Meanie
• B1: Wallsockets – Snerl
• B2: Life In The Fridge Exists – First Death Take
• B3: Naked Spots Dance – Banana Baby
• B4: Beat Rhythm Fashion – Not Necessary
• B5: Naked Spots Dance – Subtractions
• B6: Life In The Fridge Exists – Peter The D