Produced by Steve Lillywhite (who also produced Drums And Wires), Black Sea is a jittery masterpiece of unpredictable pop, with songs like "Respectable Street" and "Towers...
more >
XTC continue on with the big drum sound of Drums and Wires, adding more polish and an even heavier-hitting approach for Black Sea -- their arrangements are fuller and they...
more >
XTC's first full album, White Music shows the band going full-throttle in true punk spirit. More dissonant than their latter period, the young band shines with directionless...
more >
Following Go 2, keyboardist Barry Andrews left XTC and, rather than finding a replacement keyboard player, the band opted to recruit another guitarist (who could also play...
more >
Recorded in a rush, less than a year after White Music, Go 2 predictably suffered. The album, while slightly more melodic, reprises much of the quirky, high-energy playing...
more >
Since Skylarking, each XTC album was carefully composed and crafted, and Nonsuch is no different. Working with producer Gus Dudgeon (Elton John), XTC crafted their most...
more >
Rag 'N' Bone Buffet collects 24 rarities, B-sides, and side projects, including "Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen" (released under the pseudonym the Colonel), "Thanks for...
more >
Though the band insists the Todd Rundgren production experience was a rocky one, the album shows no signs of struggle, with gorgeous, glossy, masterful pop tunes from start...
more >
Working with producer Todd Rundgren didn't necessarily bring XTC a sense of sonic cohesion -- after all, every record since English Settlement followed its own interior...
more >
XTC took full advantage of their studio-bound status with The Big Express, creating their most painstakingly detailed, multi-layered, sonically dynamic album to date. The...
more >
Since Skylarking, each XTC album was carefully composed and crafted, and Nonsuch is no different. Working with producer Gus Dudgeon (Elton John), XTC crafted their most...
more >
Though it has been since supplanted by more comprehensive XTC collections -- the most notable being Fossil Fuel, which repeats all of the Waxworks tracks plus the later...
more >
Instead of releasing the complete double-disc set Fossil Fuel: The XTC Singles 1977-92, the American division of Geffen decided to assemble Upsy Daisy Assortment, a 19-track...
more >
There's a familiar nostalgia surrounding the release of Apple Venus Volume One. Those of us who were around in the late '60s can relate to that feeling of impatient...
more >
Seven years is a long time between records, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that Apple Venus is a significant step forward from Nonsuch, but the sparse strings and...
more >
Life may well begin at the hop, but you wouldn't know it from the recent performing history of XTC. For close to 17 years, the English band has eschewed live gigs, thanks to...
more >
XTC finally shook themselves loose of Virgin Records in early 1998, freeing themselves to finally begin recording and releasing records. The first album out the door was not...
more >
After the all-acoustic, orchestral washes of its last outing, XTC's Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) is a gobsmacking return to electric form for one of England's finest...
more >
Anyone expecting Wasp Star: Apple Venus, Vol. 2 to continue the majestic acoustic-orchestral blends of Apple Venus will be disappointed, because it's a straightforward...
more >
Fossil Fuel: The XTC Singles 1977-1992 is a splendid double-disc set that runs through every one of the group's 31 A-sides, from the nervy "Science Friction" to the lush,...
more >
After a seven-year recording hiatus induced by contract strife, XTC returned with a vengeance: Just a few months after the release of Apple Venus, Vol. 1, and a few months...
more >
XTC continue on with the big drum sound of Drums and Wires, adding more polish and an even heavier-hitting approach for Black Sea -- their arrangements are fuller and they...
more >
Following Go 2, keyboardist Barry Andrews left XTC and, rather than finding a replacement keyboard player, the band opted to recruit another guitarist (who could also play...
more >
Working with producer Todd Rundgren didn't necessarily bring XTC a sense of sonic cohesion -- after all, every record since English Settlement followed its own interior...
more >
XTC's first full album shows the band going full-throttle in true punk spirit. More dissonant than their later period, the young band shines with directionless energy and a...
more >
XTC took full advantage of their studio-bound status with The Big Express, creating their most painstakingly detailed, multi-layered, sonically dynamic album to date. The...
more >
Recorded in a rush less than a year after White Music, Go 2 predictably suffered. The album, while slightly more melodic, reprises much of the quirky, high-energy playing of...
more >
An expanded version of 1983's excellent singles compilation Waxworks, Compact XTC: The Singles 1978-1985 is simply that: all of the group's singles from 1978's White Music...
more >