Sophistopop - a synthy substrata of mid/late '80s Top 40 pop practitioned by well-coifed, debonair European acts who tamped down ever so slightly on New Romantic affectations in exchange for a more genteel approach, often bumping up against yacht rock (i.e. adult contemporary) and downtempo R&B.
You may not have heard of the genre before, but you're certainly familiar with the bevy of groups that ran it up the charts (perhaps to your chagrin): Curiosity Killed the Cat, Johnny Hates Jazz, Breathe, Swing Out Sister, and let's not forget Double.
An export of Switzerland, their lone U.S. hit, the sax-laden "Captain of Her Heart" batted a swanky run all the way to the 16th slot onto the Billboard Hot 100 circa 1986.
To be honest I had barely thought about this song since, save for it's ubiquitous afterlife as piped-in music at department stores.
Yet even if you were an ear-to-the-ground music snob binging on the likes of the Replacements and Cocteau Twins the tune (and those churned out at a rapid clip by several of the aforementioned) was generally respectable.
Perhaps out of sheer boredom I looked Double up to get the skinny on them.
Turns out they spun-off another Zurich aggregation dubbed Ping Pong who were responsible for the 1982 album I'm sharing.
As is the case with most non-phenomenon outfits pre-internet, details are scarce on this trio, but despite the group's faint footprint what they were peddling music-wise was worthy of a few spins.
Not straight up new-wavers, P/P would have blended in fairly seamlessly with the mainstream modern rock set, with frontman Kurt Maloo approximating a mild mannered hybrid of Michael Hutchinson, Mick Jagger, and even a speck of Stan Ridgeway.
Soncially on par with the likes of the Police, albeit half as innovative, white-boy reggae rhythms pepper numerous forays on From Exile.
On a more overarching basis however I find myself persuaded by the tranquil, chiming guitar fills allotted perfectly virtually wherever the needle lands here.
Tracks
1. Euronet-Diane - 3:57
2. Pictures - 4:22
3. Mayday - 3:27
4. I Want Your Love - 3:30
5. Rhythm Walk - 4:07
6. Willie - 3:35
7. (I've Been) Waiting for You - 3:55
8. Pedro - 3:39
9. Crocomation 3:55
10. Joe Doe - 5:44
Companis, etc.
- Engineered At – Europasound Studios
- Published By – Swiss Connection Music
- Published By – Z-Muzik
- Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Big Mouth
- Made By – TELDEC »Telefunken-Decca« Schallplatten GmbH
Credits
- Arranged By [All Songs] – Ping Pong
- Bass, Vocals, Harmonium – Hazel Pazzi
- Design [Cover Design] – BPK, Zurich, Nino Haslach, Robert Krügel
- Engineer – Michael Bestmann
- Management – Peter Zumsteg
- Percussion, Vocals, Marimba, Vocoder – Felix Mint
- Photography By – Jost Wildbolz
- Producer – Michael Chambosse
- Sounds [Körperton] – Ludwig Rehberg
- Vocals, Guitar [Guitars] – Kurt Maloo
Notes
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic, Jazz, Rock
Style: New Wave
Total time: 40:37
Label - Big Mouth