This Is The Ice Age - Martha And The Muffins

This is a rather obscure band from the early 80's who kind of had a unique sound for the time. I was never really sure if they were a new wave band or something different altogether. Their sound seemed more derived from folk or jazz - at least to me. They originated in Toronto Canada and started out relatively strong. Their only real hit was a song called Echo Beach from a previous album entitled Metro Music. For this effort they recruited an unknown producer (at the time) Daniel Lanois - this was the first production of his of note. He encouraged their quirkiness, and this record was the result. Even though it didn't yield any hit singles, it was critically acclaimed. The atmospheric keyboards and earthy din were to become his trademark. Shortly thereafter he worked with Brian Eno, along with David Lynch on the soundtrack of Dune. After that he continued to work with him on The Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree for U2.

Side two - although the sides of the record itself aren't labeled - starts off with the title track. It is a song reminiscent of both Blondie and 10,000 Maniacs. Martha Johnson's vocals are delivered in a way that makes them more provocative than urgent. Chimey guitars and keyboards soaked in reverb fill out the sound. A good track, but more of an album cut than a single... which is kind of a theme here. Lanois takes the time to build the mood with the atmosphere he creates in the studio. Swimming, the song that starts the opposite side, is more of a true new wave selection. The looping guitars are reminiscent of Robert Fripp. "We're afraid to call it love, lets call it swimming". The circular background vocals and almost spoken word lead vocal give it a spooky sound. The instrumentation on this track sounds more akin to progressive art-rock bands. Women Around The World At Work is a song of social commentary. The angle is that women stay at home working while men are out with their weapons starting wars all over the globe. Andy Haas adds a nice saxophone solo.

The cover is somewhat curious. It shows the identical scene on both sides at different times of the day as Monet might have with his haystacks. There is no real title text, and it is a little difficult to tell which is front and which is back. Tiny 6 pt. type in the top right corner reads "This is the Ice Age" 1, 2. Martha And The Muffins 3. More of a caption or photo credit than headline. Not really sure what the "concept" was here, but it was time when mysteriousness was paramount.

Label: Dindisc/Polygram