On their debut album, XTC made a noise that was quite unique. It blended the frantic energy of punk with virtuosic musicianship and highly attractive melodies (some of which flew by so quickly that they were hard to catch). “Radios in Motion” and “This Is Pop?” were both incredibly catchy and deeply strange, and even stranger was their cover version of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower,” which was rendered almost unrecognizable by Andy Partridge’s spasmodic, hiccupping vocals. Things are just as frenetic on the headlong “Do What You Do,” and just as weird on “I’m Bugged” – but there are also moments of relative calm on which XTC’s talent for the melodic hook is on full display. “New Town Animal in a Furnished Cage” and “Into the Atom Age” are both good examples. It’s exhausting, but White Music is also tons of oddball fun.