Black Sea – XTC (1980)

November 15, 2024

After the success of 1979’s Drums and Wires – and specifically their hit song, “Making Plans for Nigel” – XTC still felt like they hadn’t reached their full potential. In fact – bassist and co-vocalist, Colin Moulding, felt that the band had been viewed as “too quirky” up to that point and described XTC as being perceived as “a poor man’s Talking Heads.” And on top of that – vocalist and guitarist, Andy Partridge, had become obsessed with recording albums without overdubs to ensure all tracks could be played as intended during live performances. So as a result, the duo aimed to make their sound more accessible and radio-friendly with 1980’s Black Sea.

Despite the fact that both Moulding and Partridge had similar intentions with the direction of the band, the duo found themselves frequently clashing. Partridge resented the fact that Moulding’s “Making Plans for Nigel” had been the band’s biggest hit to date and was hell bent on proving he was the #1 guy in the band. This ego clash was never more Lennon-McCartney-esque than when Partridge literally wrote “Wait Till Your Boat Goes Down” with the hopes of having it be the band’s “Hey Jude” (spoiler alert: it wasn’t). And as a result of his deadly combination of ambition and insecurity – the recording of Black Sea ended up being a complete nightmare. Partridge’s tyrannical leadership, on top of an already taxing touring and recording schedule, led to not only increased friction between he and Moulding, but also overall fatigue and burnout for the rest of the band. Things actually got so bad that the band reportedly wanted to make the name of the album Work Under Pressure (which explains the submarine-themed album art), but the idea was ultimately vetoed by their manager.

Partridge and Moulding

Even through everything that came with the making of the sausage, Black Sea ended up being the second biggest album XTC ever released – charting at #16 in the UK and #41 in the US, and also featuring three top 40 singles (not too shabby for an alt rock band). But despite the album’s success commercially and critically, things would go downhill after the release – reaching a breaking point with Partridge experiencing a nervous breakdown during their tour with the Police. 

Drama aside, the album is absolutely electric from the moment you turn it on. With Black Sea, XTC was able to master the art of making cool and interesting music that features memorable pop hooks that don’t leave your head for days after listening. And on top of that, the band had clearly taken a page out of the book of their thematically highbrow forefathers like the Clash, as we get very clear indications of the band’s thoughts on political and societal issues throughout the album. The first track – “Respectable Street” – tackles abortion politics and takes direct aim at Sony Entertainment, both of which led to the song being banned from airwaves by the BBC. The record also features multiple songs that critique the ramped up militarization of the Cold War era, with “Generals and Majors” making fun of career military men’s love of war, and “Living Through Another Cuba” reflecting on the near disastrous results of the Cuban Missile Crisis. With “Towers of London” and “Paper and Iron (Notes and Coins),” XTC respectively pays tribute to the workers who built Victorian Era London and bashes the rising consumer culture made possible by the unfettered capitalism of the 80s. But despite the heavy subject matter of these songs, the listener feels nothing but pure joy when hearing them. The up-tempo, danceable instrumentals combine with catchy choruses so well that you might even miss the point of the lyrics if you aren’t listening closely.

XTC: Dave Gregory, Colin Moulding, Terry Chambers, and Andy Partridge

As mentioned, the main parallels that I notice when listening to XTC (and this album in particular), are the Beatles and the Clash. And to be fair, I am not saying that XTC is anywhere near as legendary or revolutionary as either band, but I do think there are many comparisons worth noting. Their ability to make enjoyable pop songs that also serve as rich political and societal critiques upon closer examination is a hallmark of the Clash – especially with Sandinista!, which was actually released after Black Sea. And in addition to the noted Lennon-McCartney ego clash of Partridge and Moulding – the songwriting duo intentionally made several attempts to replicate the songs of the Beatles. “Generals and Majors” was written as a one chord song to try to match the similarly written “Doctor Robert” and “Paperback Writer.” And Partridge would later acknowledge that “Towers of London” was a subconscious re-writing of “Rain” off of 1966’s Revolver. Regardless of whether or not you think it’s fair to compare them to two of the most legendary acts in the history of rock and roll, you can’t deny the impressiveness of the career XTC was able to pull off. It’s near impossible to not put them in the pantheon of the best alt rock bands of the 1980s – and I would be skeptical of any argument that doesn’t put them at the very top.