The 1980's was a golden period for Industrial music. During that decade I was buying everything I could on vinyl; Skinny Puppy, Ministry, Front Line Assembly, Cabaret Voltaire, KMFDM, Nine Inch Nails, Laibach and of course Front 242.
There were others but these were the main ones, my core. Front 242 were particular favourites, I loved their cold, new wave, Kraftwerk-esque minimalism. Their compositions were the sounds of a dystopian near-future. They could be soundtracks to post-industrial ruinscapes; scorched and burnt out buildings reaching up into the gun metal grey skies of persistent rain.
Geography wasn't the first Front 242 album I bought (that was Front By Front) but it was one I instantly fell in love with. I've always been a fan of Krautrock; Kratwerk, Can and Neu were bands I was listening to in the early 80's and it's easy to hear the influences of these bands on Geography. Sounding a bit like early Human League, it is all synthetic beats and spacy analogue synths. The programming is paired back and simple which only adds to the stark atmosphere of the album. If it were a room it would be a clean, white tiled and sterilised laboratory with harsh strip lighting and slow-blinking machinery.
In contrast to their later albums which were amped-up brutal electronic assaults, Geography contains simple rhythms and sparingly used synths. Throughout, the album is typical of other recordings of this time, always hovering below the mainstream and occupying the avant-garde experimentalism of Berlin in the 70's.
‘U-Men’ was the breakout track of the album, becoming a hit in the alternative/industrial/goth clubs of the 80's. Of all the tracks on the album it is the most accessible and radio-friendly.
‘Dialogues’, ‘GVDT’ and ‘Operating Tracks’ are most indicative of the album, expertly blending melody, rhythm and sequenced programming. They sound like complete and fully contained tracks rather than the fragmented and part-score tracks of ‘Art And Strategy’ and ‘Geography Parts 1 & 2.’
‘Black White Blue’ sounds like it could have come off a Cabaret Voltaire album with its brass-edged synth scrawls and military step beat.
Overall this is a strong album and acts as a proving ground for ideas that would spring up on future releases as the noise was increased and the amped-up aggro-beat sound would take hold.
