2025 Stock. The Work emerged from the dissolution of Henry Cow in 1979, formed by saxophonist Tim Hodgkinson, guitarist Bill Gilonis, bassist Mick Hobbs, and drummer Rick Wilson. Their inaugural LP, Slow Crimes, is a little-known treasure of transformative magnitude, so rabidly articulate that it presides over and resides in a world very much unto itself. While falling within the loosest guidelines of post-punk, the term proves inadequate: the textural intricacies and distinct deliberacy throughout Slow Crimes bespeak both an utterly unique collective identity and a startling fluency with its own language, taking punk rock's vibrant urgency and catalyzing it into a continually fascinating mosaic.
Each member plays a variety of instruments across the album, expanding the sonic palette far beyond conventional rock instrumentation. Guest vocalist Catherine Jauniaux appears throughout, her elastic, theatrical voice adding another dimension to the band's already complex sound world. The compositions are tightly structured yet feel spontaneous, balancing meticulous arrangement with improvisational energy. There's humor here, but never at the expense of musical sophistication; there's complexity, but never mere showing off. The Work understood something crucial: that experimentalism and accessibility aren't opposites but can coexist when approached with intelligence and genuine creative vision.
Originally released in 1982 and reissued on CD with bonus tracks by Megaphone in 1991, this first vinyl reissue makes Slow Crimes available again in its proper format. The package includes a bonus 7" featuring concurrent compilation tracks "Anxious About Meaning" and "One Swallow," essential listening for understanding the band's trajectory. For fans of Henry Cow, Art Bears, This Heat, and the Recommended Records universe, Slow Crimes stands as crucial documentation of what post-punk could sound like when filtered through genuine avant-garde sensibility and executed with virtuosic precision.
