Essendon Airport formed in Melbourne, Australia in the immediate aftermath of the punk juggernaut and recorded one album before breaking up in 1983. This two-disc set reissues that original release and adds a second disc of live and previously unreleased studio recordings from 1980-1983. As is so often the case with avant-funk experiments of this period, the music offers pleasures both genuine and ironic: the groove on "Refunkt" is lots of fun, while its vaguely Teutonic, spoken word segment offers fun of a more giggly sort. "Jig" is exactly that, a 6/8 experiment featuring cheap-sounding synths and straight-faced lyrics centering on the repeatedly intoned line "What have you got to show?" But at times the sound tips over into what sounds suspiciously like weirdness for weirdness' sake. "Like Young" is archly strange, and tracks like "Trad Jazz" and "Correct Pitch?" seem like pointless exercises in found sound. But at their best, notably the angular and crazily compelling "Science of Sound,"
Essendon Airport sound like they're really on the verge of something new and exciting. The second disc contains no overlap in content with the first; all tracks are unique, come from a variety of sources, and enjoy a wide range of sonic quality. Interestingly, although some of this material is apparently from the group's formative years and is at times quite spare, it's this music that sometimes hits hardest despite it minimalist aesthetic -- note in particular the dry and cool "Bouncy Bouncy" and "Thirds," and the severely minimalist "Seven" (written in 7/4 time, of course). All in all, this album presents a sporadically fascinating document of post-punk ferment in an area not normally thought of as being a significant part of that scene. ~ Rick Anderson