Lords of the New Church: Is Nothing Sacred?

Their second album finds the Lords (see here) faltering a bit. Neither the production, the playing or the song-writing measure up to their debut. To be fair, Bators-James' "Dance with Me", with it's kitschy video, hokey come-ons ("Love can be like bondage") and slinky tune, is a new wave (electro-pop division) classic.


(Wince-inducing isn't it ? The oddest moment though, has to be that kid with the Skrwdriver shirt hosting the show!)


There are other fine examples of their pop malevolence (like an original entitled "Johnny Too Bad") but the second and final single was the other brightest light, a Grass Roots cover produced by Todd Rundgren (the man behind the board for the New York Dolls and many other classics).



Overall, this is an album more concerned with "nocturnal salvation" than religious or political conspiracy (which still gets some play on the catchy, "Tale of Two Cities"). It's got a bit of mainstream dance-rock groove going on, akin to the Rolling Stones early eighties work, which some might take as a compliment. However the more tacked-on synthesizers and the dopier lyrics ("Don't worry children, everything's gonna be aright") refuse to let this album rule the dance floor or the stadium.







The mightily precious Nouvelle Vague covered the song on their Bande a Part album.