Industry - Stranger To Stranger (Reissue 2005)

Capitol Records probably thought they discovered the next Duran Duran when they released Industry's Stranger to Stranger LP in 1984. However, the album doesn't sound like the brainchild of corporate opportunists; instead, it is a surprisingly consistent synth-pop record. Some of the lyrics are cliched -- especially on "Until We're Together" and "What Have I Got to Lose" -- but unlike Duran Duran's sci-fi tales, they actually make sense. The pretty "Romantic Dreams" recounts unrequited love under a blanket of lush, Roxy Music-esque keyboards. If Industry had received more exposure, "Romantic Dreams" would've been included in the same league of beloved '80s new wave ballads such as Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)" and O.M.D.'s "If You Leave." "Romantic Dreams" isn't even the most well-known track on Stranger to Stranger. The anti-war song "State of the Nation" is the main reason collectors scour boxes of used vinyl for a copy of this album. The track is a hook machine armed with incessantly hummable lyrics and a mercilessly catchy synthesized beat. "Still of the Night" and the immaculate "Shangri-La" had hit-single potential if Top 40 radio did more risk-taking in the '80s. The utopian fantasy "Shangri-La," like "State of the Nation," showed that Industry had more on their minds than girls on film or wild boys. - Michael Sutton, AMG