While they were only operational for a period of a few years after initially emerging with their debut single ‘Cakes In The Home’ in 1979, Philadelphia post-punk trio Crash Course In Science found themselves enjoying something of a critical revival in the mid-noughties as an early influence on the then-peaking electroclash scene. Indeed, the trio’s use of kitchen appliances to augment distorted guitars, synths and electronic drums in many ways echoed the work done by the late Frank Tovey as Fad Gadget whilst also setting them apart from the rest of the US-based New Wave scene. Originally recorded in 1981 for a proposed album titled ‘Near Marineland’ that never saw the light of day, thanks to Dark Entries ‘Jump Over Barrels’ is only now finally receiving a proper release, 35 years on.
Upon listening to the original mix version of ‘Jump Over Barrels’ that opens this four track 12” EP, it’s certainly not hard to see an immediate influence upon the likes of Green Velvet and The Hacker. Stripped down proto-EBM drum machine rhythms and relentlessly buzzing analogue synths power away against Michael Zodorozny’s vocals, the sense of stiff robotic monotony being nicely undercut by the off-beat nature of the lyrics (“You try to make me go out with Carol”), before things suddenly grind to a halt amidst background studio chatter. While the original 1981 demo and a fairly raw-sounding early rehearsal version of the same track included here are likely to be of real interest to completists only, it’s the addition of a new reworking by Charles Manier (actually Tadd Mullinix in disguise) that offers up the real gold here, rewiring the original into a tightly coiled mass of tumbling metallic percussion, coldly precise hi-hat programming and distorted vocal treatments that suggests Kill Memory Crash’s cut-up post-EBM electro stomp more than anything else. In this case, it’s worth the price of entry alone. Those looking to find out more about the beginnings of EBM’s DNA will no doubt be pleased.
