Attack Under Attack – Los Alamos

Attack Under Attack – Los Alamos // Operating Instructions (J&J Records) 1982. Jeff and Jane Hudson were two of the three original RENTALS, a band that formed in the fall of 1977 in Boston, and subsequently released their first single ‘Gertrude Stein, a great little slice of early art-punk from a city not really known for that sort of thing. Eventually, the RENTALS came to an end and Jane and Jeff decided to pursue their interests in analogue synths. They began recording a string of very cool releases oftentimes centred around really ominous electro-pop employing early Roland synths and the TR808 drum machines. Both Jeff and Jane sing, and their personas match the music perfectly. Jeff has a quivery, drug-addled vocal style where Jane is more detached and icy. All of the qualities I have just described are on display on this great 45 from 1982 that they recorded, confusingly, under the name Attack Under Attack. Los Alamos is the catchier of the two and reminds me of other Jane/Jeff classics like PCP and Gertrude Stein. But it is the B-Side, Operating Instructions that really catches just how awesome the duo could be. Over this really simple and intense sounding synth pattern, Jane instructs you on how to “operate the unit” in various languages. Her vocals are masked behind delay. The whole effect reminds me of some sort of mid-1980′s After Hours urban adventure. Jeff and Jane have a website and a MySpace and it looks like a re-release is pending. This is good news, as most of the early stuff (like this) is hopelessly out of print.