Alternative TV — Direct Action-Special Edition

Direct Action was the twenty-third album from British punk band turned experimental soundscapers, Alternative TV. The six-track album paired moody experimental rock elements with noise tones/ textures, with an atmospherically seared production. Here from Fourth Dimensions is a recent CD reissue of the  2023 album, adding a bonus track that melds anarchic spoken word with surreal soundscaping.

The CD comes presented in a simple yet effective yellow and black colour scheme digipak with minimal text. It might have been nice to have a few liner notes discussing the original release and the bonus track, though I can understand that may not have been financially viable.

For this release, the band was a two-piece of Mark Perry and Dave Mogan, with help/ support from Gareth Matthews, Ruth Timarsh, Cos Chapman, and Steve Carter- who has apparently recently passed away.

The six original tracks on the album certainly have a decidedly distinctive feel/ air, with the sound in general sitting somewhere between moody, dense, noisy, and decidedly seared- in an often uneasy/disquieting manner.

We go from the thumbed ‘n’ gloomy indie guitar strum, off-key clean guitar layers, icy synth tone clash, and wiring low-in-the-mix-noise malevolence of “Causewayhead”. Onto groaning ‘n’ billowing bass saw, scuttling ‘n’ skirting percussion, cold guitar picks, and tonal forking’s of the wonderful entitled “Free The Nipple”.  With the original album finishing off with the title track, which brings together constant rolling noise grain, searing tonal shifts up & down, locked/ churning guitar tones, and reverb spin.   

The bonus track for this reissue is “Never Went To Art School Remix”- it’s a nearly six and a half minute affair. It mixes a surreally plinking, plonking, feedback rubbing backdrop, with spoken word cockney male talking regarding getting up, and arty pretension. As the track progresses, we get effective layers of blunt percussion hiss ‘n’ hit, backwards guitars,  a loose punk bass line, and general unsettling flotsam ‘n’ jetsam appearing.

I'm rather ashamed to say that before this release, I only knew of Alternative TV in passing- but I must say Direct Action is a wonderful, powerful & unbalancing release-with its mix and meld of rock, noise, and psycho ambience being most compelling. To buy directly head here