This week I ventured down a rabbit hole I never saw coming, that was until I tuned into an
episode of a favorite podcast of mine. The hole in question? 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 tonight. 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.
01. Euronet-Diane
02. Pictures
03. Mayday
04. I Want Your Love
05. Rhythm Walk
06. Willie
07. (I've Been) Waiting for You
08. Pedro
09. Crocomation
10. Joe Doe
