Flop - Whenever You're Ready (93)

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1 A. Wylie
2 Regrets
3 Julie Francavilla
4 Pluto
5 En Route to the Unified Field Theory
6 A Fixed Point
7 A Popular Donkey
8 The Great Valediction
9 Mendel's White Trash Laboratory
10 Z² + C
11 Sorry Henry Maartens
12 Night of the Hunter
13 Port Angeles
14 Eat
15 Woolworth
16 Pts. 1 & 2
17 Need Retrograde Orbit

With production from Martin Rushent, known for his work with the Buzzcocks in their late-'70s heyday, Whenever You're Ready finds the band taking the merry plunge into major-label existence.

Strictly speaking, the band barely changed at all, except that Willoughby's voice came across with a more Beatle-y feeling, one could say.

It seems to be a combination of his own efforts and Rushent's ear for bringing vocals out as much as the music, and while again his isn't a perfect voice, it's a really good one for Flop as a whole, a delicious semi-whine falsetto.

The unchanged quartet brings its collective skills out to play with a burst of delight, again playing around with both more "typical" pop/punk inspirations and a strong, shuddering way around metal riffing gone pretty.

Check out the instrumental breaks in "Regrets," Johnson's drumming again balancing out several different things at once, not to mention the great singing from all involved on the chorus. Other brilliant examples of what could almost be called peppy grunge include "Pluto," with a hard-rocking final section fading off and away, and the galloping opening à la "Achilles Last Stand" or "Barracuda" for "The Great Valediction," leading, of course, into a totally sunny delivery from the band even as it accelerates along.

More openly playful instances of the band having its own fun include the glam-touched "En Route to the Unified Field Theory," Schurr's bass leading the descending notes from everyone else and guest cello from Kim Carter providing a final flourish.