Japan - Gentlemen Take Polaroids (1980)

Dan:

I remember Steve and his friend Abram talking about Japan, and I was able to sample the band's Tin Drum (1981) album. It was full of interesting sounds and some fascinating songs like "Ghosts" and "Still Life in Mobile Homes." It seemed to combine art-rock and glam with an Asian theme, brought to life in leader David Sylvian's austere vocals. So I checked out Japan's previous album, Gentlemen Take Polaroids. Although still attributed to Japan, it lacked the self-conscious Asian posture and focused more on exotic contemporary themes. 

Polaroids is an exceptional album from start to finish. It's very accessible musically and leans toward understatement rather than upbeat, bashing rock and roll. The title track begins with a pleasantly lilting melody that belies its dark narrative about love and polaroid photography. "Swing" and "My New Career" are the other highlights of the LP's side 1. Side 2 is marred only by the odd cover of a Motown hit, "Ain't That Peculiar," which doesn't mesh with the more sophisticated material penned by Sylvian. The other tracks on side 2 are about dance ("Methods of Dance"), loneliness and isolation ("Nightporter"), and fantasies of adventure to escape isolation ("Taking Islands in Africa"). 

Curiously, the dismal themes on display are uplifted by the music, which is actually quite beautiful. Sylvian's voice rides softly over the melodies, rhythms and subtle chord progressions. These devices would become regular features in Sylvian's later solo albums, especially Brilliant Trees, Secrets of the Beehive, and Gone to Earth. These all remain favorites of mine.

Steve:

Japan emerged from humble, derivative beginnings to arrive at a more sophisticated sound with Gentlemen Take Polaroids. This new direction had been hinted at with their prior album, Quiet Life, which itself was a step forward from the more predictable post-punk of their earlier work.  

I always thought it a little unusual that Dan got so much enjoyment out of Gentlemen; not because it lacked any quality, but because it seemed so close to the New Wave and Synth-pop sounds of the time. But dig a little deeper and it's clear upon close listening that Japan were in a different league than, say, Duran Duran, a band that probably idolized these guys. Duran Duran's debut album especially has several Japan-like moments. 

It was even more remarkable to me that although Dan listened to this album a lot, I hardly ever listened to it until many years later. I don't even recall the anecdote where Dan heard about Tin Drum through me and my friend. However, I do recall hearing Tin Drum several times at Spec's, the Miami record store where I worked as a teenager. My time at Spec's was crucial in nudging my musical tastes from Top 40 Music (with a few oddballs like Talking Heads mixed in) to College Rock (what is now called 80s Alternative and Punk/Hardcore). Japan were one of the many new bands I was exposed to through that store.