Fourth Drawer Down

Compiling a series of singles they made in the runup to the release of their monumental album Sulk, Fourth Drawer Down shows the Associates in full creative flow, the partnership of Billy Mackenzie’s astonishing voice and Alan Rankine’s unusual and inspired arrangements in full force. There’s early 80s UK postpunk and then there’s the giddy hysteria of a song like “Kitchen Person” or “Tell Me Easter’s On Friday” or the cold beauty of “White Car in Germany.”