The Housemartins Album: “Now That's What I Call Quite Good”

After Billy Bragg came the Housemartins, born of the working class ethic in Hull with the left wing morals of Marx and a belief in honesty. With their self-defacing merchandising ("The Housemartins are quite good" badges etc) and a fearless attitude to expression of politics. They left on a high with this album. Although many people didn't understand the satirical barbs against the evils of thatcherism and capitalism in general, they remain an excellent example of agitrock born of the disallusionment of the late eighties.

When I first heard the Housemartins I thought they were trying a bit too hard to cash in on the Smiths, but then again, in the US, that would mean cashing in on nothing much. Still, like the Smiths--and the Beatles before either of these great 80s groups--this was an English band that tapped into US rock influences but drew equal amounts on English music hall and skiffle.

If you like melodic, guitar-driven rock in a popular presentation (accessible and memorable), this is the ticket. And this CD is a very large collection of songs for one disc.

If you were a Smiths fan and didn't notice the Housemartins, now is the time to discover them. There was apparently more songwriting talent in the HMs, much of the group could sing (better harmonies), and the politics were much more straightforward but most definitely old labor left.

If you are into real music made with pasion and conviction about what real music is, then this is the cd to listen to. Do not hasitate, just buy it and even learn to like it if you didn't yet. It is really really good music

I've always been a fan of 80s alternative music, but somehow missed The Housemartins (I think they were popular - and that's a relative term - while I was living in South America, which is probably why I missed them). But I heard "Happy Hour" on the radio and loved the catchy-upbeat-80s sound of it. And after listening to all the clips here on Amazon I really liked what I heard. I see them compared to

, and I guess the sound is similar, but it's not moody like The Smiths were. In some ways I thought it similar to

- with the humor, anyway. Maybe a cross between the two?

At any rate, this is good music (quite good, in fact). I like the more mainstream sounds like "Happy Hour," "I Smell Winter," and "Bow Down." But I also like the a cappella songs "He Ain't Heavy" and "Caravan of Love." The gospel-sounding "I'll Be Your Shelter" was nice, too. In all, there are only a few songs I usually skip. But one note of caution: a little goes a long way. The songs are very catchy and have a strong tendency to get stuck in your head for days and could, possibly, drive you absolutely crazy (my son complained about "Happy Hour" for this reason). So, for me, I seldom listen to the whole cd at once anymore.

The Housemartins are just one of those slightly overlooked bands stemming from the mid-80's. Typically British in their lyrics their music is a self described "garage gospel". I've always enjoyed listening to them -a wicked sense of wit , up-beat tempo and great guitar and piano arrangments make the Housemartins brilliant fun to listen to.... especially during winter weather.