Trans X - Living On Video

 Do you like New Wave? You know, the 80s variety with unisex feathered hair and keyboards. Bands like Berlin, Missing Persons, A Flock of Seagulls, and the first Ministry album. A year was a long time in pop in Eighties Europe: new sounds, fashions and youth cults came along at a bewildering speed. Even in 1983 'Living On Video' was ''so 80s'' that it already sounded dated. This isn't surprising; the track was recorded in 1981, released in Canada in '83 but not a hit elsewhere except for the Netherlands where it was a top 20 hit (go figure) until the summer of 1985. It's also no surprise it sounds so European (the synths, the slightly accented English, the snatch of French lyrics) given the fact it's the work of French Canadians. This is the stuff the Eighties were made of they had the look down pat.  Trans-X was the brainchild of Pascal Languirand. He melded disco and pop in the same way that fellow Canadian's Lime did. there are moments when the synths on this record sound like classic OMD (particularly # 6, Josee), but this band does not have the cerebral edge Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark did. It is more Tears for Fears than OMD. Monkey Dance could be tied to Men Without Hats Safety Dance by anyone with even a little imagination, but I wouldn't hold that against this record too much. It would be real easy to trash this disc. It sounds like a goof that a current band would create in homage to the 80s. But Trans-X were real, and this disc has all you will need to hear from them in one place. 

Ripped from the Japanese Vinyl to MP3 @ 320 

A1 3-D Dance 5:52

A2 Nitelife 7:09

A3 21st Century 5:25

B1 Living on Video 5:55

B2 Message on the Radio 5:10

B3 Josee 5:45

B4 Digital World 3:30