Saturday, July 18, 2026

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Reactor (1980, Official)

I've had this kicking around for the better part of 20 years and have been chronically procrastinating posting it for no particular reason.  Hopefully this will be worth the wait for some of you. Despite it's indie label pedigree Nuclear Regulatory Commission's lone LP is relatively easy to find, and can be procured for approximately a half-hour's minimum wage. Presumably based in Tennessee per the band's contact address, this coed quintet were hardly the stuff of southern fried aesthetics.  Albeit not traditional synth pop/wave the combo in question took an ample bite Devo's sardonic heft and massaged into something considerably less stiff not to mention arrestingly catchy, with Reactor's most devastating salvos being dealt right out of the gate via "Critical Mass," packing a subtle but undeniable groove, and "Inspection" which goes for the jugular with staccato vocal affectations and a tuneful template that their contemps the Cars were gradually making their calling card.  And speaking of windpipes, the male variety tend to dominate the first half, while the other side of the coin predominantly features Bobbie BonnicksonReactor isn't carpet-to-carpet gold, but just about all of it is at minimum respectable, not to mention edgy and earnest.  This rip was taken from a noisy slice of vinyl, and if the master tapes somehow still exist a full-fledged remaster/reissue would be a treat.

01. Critical Mass
02. Inspecetion
03. System Failure
04. Nothing is the Same
05. White Sugar
06. Fax
07. Generator
08. Drafted
09. Z-bomb

1 comment:

Konrad Useo said...

Some real good songs on this. Thanks.