from the LP Passion Factory, Hansa Records, 1981Although they later went on to follow a similar musical direction as the Pet Shop Boys and Erasure (see: Europop cheese at its finest), at this stage in their career the German duo of Sven Dohrow & Ronny Schreinzer, known simply as the Twins, still sounded very much like a Tubeway Army tribute band---that’s not an insult in the least, as Gary Numan fucking rocks, and so does a good portion of this debut album. Granted, the lyrics aren’t nearly as haunted or delicious as Numan’s are, but the music itself comes quite close, and there is a hint of the Cars’ influence to be found here as well, both inspirations fashioning a very melodic sound indeed. You just have to love the iconic cover photo, so fucking ‘80s man!
