Walking into Records on Wheels in Thunder Bay back in 1979 and seeing the debut LP from The B-52's on the wall was an easy sell for me. I don't think I'd ever heard of them or seen anything about them in the music magazines I was reading at the time, but the look of this band immediately struck me as fab and kinky! Once the record was home and spinning on my turntable, it definitely did not disappoint, though it did surprise because it took me back to so many forgotten childhood memories. The B-52's were the first band of the era who really understood kitsch nostalgia at a deep, visceral level, enough that they managed to embody certain sonic and visual signifiers so perfectly as to conjure those memories with flawless clarity. Delving into the album, my brain suddenly filled with images of aliens, monsters from the deep, go-go girls, lava lamps, dance crazes and impossible, gravity defying hairdos! The triple threat front line of Fred Schneider, flanked by bouffant babes Cindy Wilson & Kate Pierson, was a retro-style assault beyond defense. Backed up by the one-two-punch of Ricky Wilson's surfed up twang guitar and Keith Strickland's meter perfect, snappy drumming, they were a party in a can, guaranteed to leave any dance floor messed around. It's one of those rarest of debut LPs which presents the band, fully formed, with a near flawless selection of irresistible songs. This was the record that truly opened the floodgates for me to reconsider the past and look for those forgotten, neglected relics that still had the power to engage and transform.
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