Pop Will Eat Itself - Box Frenzy

A hint (some might say warning) of what was to come on its follow-up record, the sample-heavy Box Frenzy is a fury of hip-hop, rock, and dance. Pop Will Eat Itself (aka The Poppies / PWEI) had yet to fully develop their wildly eclectic sound and satire-isation of politics, so there's a few odd numbers here. Among those is "Inside You," an innocent pop song that borders on cheesy new wave. Box Frenzy's imaginative sampling is culled from unlikely places and the band openly admits to lifting sounds from television and other artists. They even describe how they sample in the comical "Hit the Hi-Tech Groove." Much of this wouldn't have gone over too well in the late '90s. Considering this was released in 1987, it's rather impressive.

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The Poppies’ position in the history of alternative music is mercurial, relegated to whatever (usually minor) role is convenient for journalists at the time. While very few artists are ever well summarized in critical shorthand, the unbelievably fast evolution of the core group comprised of frontmen and songwriters Graham Crabb and Clint Mansell and guitarist Adam Mole across their original run of records leaves them prone to being unfairly pigeonholed by those unfamiliar with the range of their work. Various Best Ofs and Greatest Hits collections have gone a ways towards combatting the most common misunderstandings of the band’s legacy (particularly in North America where the finale of their original run as Reznor-approved industrial rockers is most remembered), but for the fan already well aware of the protean quality of PWEI’s work. The music press has a notoriously difficult time understanding irony short of it being writ large, which probably accounts for the Poppies first proper record being largely dismissed as the work of “mouthy gob-shit bastards”. Of course the fellas were perfectly willing to live up to that image so long as it meant continued attention from the NME who seemed particularly bent out of shape about the unabashed laddishness on display on Box Frenzy. Whether or the notorious cover of the Wilde Knights’ “Beaver Patrol” was meant to be taken seriously (possibly?) seems irrelevant in the light of history, like the best pop agitators PWEI could have cared less about explaining themselves. “Hit the Hi Tech Groove” may have been a piss-take intended to head off criticisms of their new sample happy approach, but it’s “You don’t have to have integrity/You don’t have to have ability/listen kiddies it’s true what they say/You don’t need respectability” chorus made for a pretty effective mission statement.
Inspired by the leftfield success of their cover of Sigue Sigue Sputnik’s “Love Missile F1-11″ (and its 12” Megamix by Warp Records founder Rob Gordon, which is conspicuous by its absence in the reissue bonus tracks) Box Frenzy is the schema for the albums of PWEI’s classic era. Graham Crabb’s abdication of his role as drummer to take up co-vocalist duties with Clint Mansell (a catalytic move whose importance can’t be overstated) sealed the direction of their debut, a remarkably prescient mixture of guitars, samples, programmed beats and scratches that had far more in common with the Beastie Boys circa License To Ill than the more journalist friendly indie punk that got them noticed in the first place. “Inside You” and “There is no Love Between us Anymore”, which respectively look backwards and forwards, may be the most substantive songs present for those seeking to create context for Box Frenzy, but truthfully it’s the wilful dumbness of “Let’s Get Ugly” and “She’s Surreal” that best define it.

1 Grebo Guru 3:55
2 Beaver Patrol 3:09
3 Let's Get Ugly 4:02
4 U.B.L.U.D. 3:50
5 Inside You 2:36
6 Evelyn 3:18
7 There Is No Love Between Us Anymore 3:55
8 She's Surreal 4:10
9 Intergalactic Love Mission 3:54
10 Love Missile F1-11 4:11
11 Hit the Hi-Tech Groove 5:09
12 Razorblade Kisses 1:50
13 Picnic in the Sky [bonus track] 2:49
14 Kiss That Girl [bonus track] 1:48
15 There Is No Love Between Us Anymore (Specially Extended Dance Mix) [bonus track] 4:43
16 Grebo Guru (Sonic Sounds EP Mix) [bonus track] 4:12
17 Supersonic Human (Graham's Home Demo) [bonus track] 0:36
18 Intergalactic Love Mission (Graham’s Home Demo) [bonus track] 1:59
19 Def Con One (Clint's Home Demo) [bonus track] 1:49
20 Def Con One [bonus track] 3:43
21 Def Con One (Doomsday Power Mix) [bonus track] 5:54