Age of Chance was no more than 18 months ahead of its time -- two years, tops -- but that short gap was enough to doom the band commercially. If 1987's One Thousand Years of Trouble had been released in 1989, when groups like Pop Will Eat Itself and Carter USM were actively exploring the links between Iggy Pop and Public Enemy, it would have been hailed as groundbreaking. At the time, it merely sounded weird and alien, like Sigue Sigue Sputnik with fewer gimmicks and better musicianship. One of the first rock bands to incorporate a DJ and rapper into its sound, Age of Chance managed one minor hit off this album, the still-impressive rave-up "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Noise." The rest of the album is similar (though admittedly, less immediately striking): pounding rhythms and loud, squalling guitars mixed with fractious samples and loops, topped with hoarse, shouted vocals that recall the group's Leeds forebears the Mekons and the Gang of Four. Abrasive, noisy, yet vibrant and intriguing, One Thousand Years of Trouble deserved more attention than it got.
© Stewart Mason /TiVo