In 1982 a band from Boston entered an annual radio contest – a “battle of the bands,” if you will. They were a new wave bandthat consisted of 2 Berklee college alums (including indie darling Aimee Mann on bass and lead vocals) and a few other locals. Their song “Love In A Vacuum” was a hit and won them the contest. This eventually led to them landing a record deal with Epic Records – home of such legends as Michael Jackson, Blondie and Wham!.
That band was ‘Til Tuesday. In 1985 they released Voices Carry . It became a staple on Mtv when the network actually aired videos.
Voices Carry is a catchy little album. Mann’s bass playing combined with her vocals are hard to ignore. She plays hard on that
bass and it shows on such tracks as Love In A Vacuum, Looking Over My Shoulder and the album’s title track.
However, the album falls flat on such tracks as Sleep, Maybe Monday, and Don’t Watch Me Bleed. Essentially, aside from the great new wave track that is Winning the War, side b is filler music and nothing more. It adds nothing to the listening experience.
Also one of the more quirkier things about this album is the fashion: lead vocalist Aimee Mann is wearing a rats tail hairdo. While this factor does date the album as far as the cover goes.
B-