Descendants

One of the anthems of women in music has been "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" written by a just-turned 20 Poly Styrene, frontwoman of X-Ray-Spex. Formed in London 1976, the group featured Lora Logic on sax, an instrument not typically heard in the punk scene. Aside from their atypical style, X-Ray-Spex embodied the punk ethic because of Poly Styrene's refusal to be yet another objectified sex symbol, shaving her head in defiance, something that would get Sinead universal attention about a decade and a half later. Check out key track mentioned above, along with yet another feminist anthem, "Identity."

Germfree Adolescents


So what happened when X-Ray-Spex split in 1979 when Poly Styrene went to join the Hare Krishna movement? Lora Logic, sax player, went on to form "Essential Logic," which lasted for about a year (when she herself joined the Krishnas), and reformed again for about a year in the early 80's. This double disc compiles most of Essential Logic's recorded moments, nearly all of Lora's solo stuff, plus many recent tunes. Enjoy the sax-heavy rhythms and operatic sensibility that can only be a female influence on the punk movement. Deciphering what tracks are new is pretty simple with track titles such as "On the Internet." Be sure to check out the earlier, and surely some of the better tracks, and key tracks such as "Hiss and Shake," and of course, "Music is a Better Noise."

Fanfare in the Garden