Jazzateers

A fantastic band from the early 80s that, in spite of their tranquil sound, was fraught with interpersonal friction, grubby business dealings gone awry, and plain old bad luck from jump.

In short, Jazzateers was a Scottish group that first signed to Postcard Records—the one and only, the legendary, the home of Orange Juice and Josef K—just in time for its folding. Fortunately, after a lineup change, they got picked up by Rough Trade, with whom they did manage to release a single and an album, but then they ditched on member and changed their name to Bourgie Bourgie. A few years later, they revived Jazzateers, put out another single and recorded another LP, but that never saw the light of day.



Their sound was a unique one, and perhaps it was a struggle to define and maintain it that drove them to ruin. They were sort of trying to shimmy between the hip, craggy Postcard post-punk and something tighter, more trained, that had a distinct jazz flavoring—and a bossa flavoring at times. With some songs—and not just "Wasted," their cover of Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder's classic—these angles complemented into something that grazed disco, too, only imbuing them with more heart, charm, warmth.



Frustratingly good, frankly. Tuneful and unusually musical. When it comes to lo-fi guitar pop of this era, you find many groups could hid their amateurishness behind a sparkly disposition and knack for hooks, but not these guys.