Review:
The unwritten rule with any release from the Minimal Wave camp is that the illuminating nature of the music and the delightful way it's presented will almost always be matched by the story behind it - something that is undeniably true of their latest release, a collection of tracks from mid 80s UK synth act Hard Corps. Fronted by towering vocalist Regine Fetet, the band surfaced in 1984 with the two track single Dirty (the title track is included here) gained the studious attentions of John Peel (RIP) before signing with a major label and granted the chance to work with two 80s production titans in Martin Rushent and Daniel Miller. Hard Corps disbanded in 1989, having only released the one single Je Suis Passee amidst malcontent at their lack of support from Polydor. Clean Tables Have To Be Burnt collates six tracks from the Hard Corps canon, with the aforementioned "hits" accompanied by unheard archival material that will pique the fancy of any self regarding Minimal Wave fan.