Having already established their bona fides at moody intensity on earlier releases, A Certain Ratio followed their “Waterline” single with a slightly lighter but no less driven way forward with 1982’s Sextet, their first full-length self-produced effort. With the band crediting their 1981 New York visit with opening up connections to that era’s funk and underground dance efforts, Sextet audibly sounds it on the horn-driven “Gum” and the whistle-driven joy of “Skipscada.” Meanwhile, the brilliant, nervous clip of “Knife Slits Water” is one of their all time high points.

– Ned Raggett