Cypress is the debut album by the American band Let's Active, released in 1984.[1][2] The band supported the album by opening for Echo and the Bunnymen on a UK tour.[3] The first single was "Blue Line".[4]Cypress peaked at No. 138 on the Billboard 200 and was also a success on college radio stations.[5][6]
Let's Active included Mitch Easter on guitar, Sara Romweber on drums, and Faye Hunter on bass, with the latter two departing after the album was completed.[7][8]Cypress was produced by the band and Don Dixon and recorded during the spring of 1984 at Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with the band using many first takes.[9][10] After lightning struck the studio, Let's Active finished the sessions at Reflection Studios, in Charlotte.[11] The band tried for a "light" style and sound on the Afoot EP but went for spontaneity and feeling on Cypress.[12] "Blue Line" is a cover of the Outskirts song.[10]
The Philadelphia Inquirer said, "The melodies have a pretty lilt, as do the charmingly sour vocals, and the rough, speedy rhythms prevent the music from becoming merely attractive."[18]The New York Times stated that the album "decorates relatively simple pop-song structures with quirky, intricately dense arrangements."[19]The Globe and Mail opined, "The decorative Byrds and Beatle-pop evocations here ride that edge between charming and cloying, but there's nothing simple or shallow about Easter's abstract reworking of his sources or his emotionally charged lyrics."[20] The Los Angeles Times praised the "playful, Monkees-style innocence."[21]
Robert Christgau noted that "if only Mitch Easter had something to say, maybe Let's Active albums would sound as great as Byrds albums".[14] The Houston Chronicle called Cypress "sound-sculpted album of weaving textures and convoluted dynamics".[22]The Morning Call considered it to be among the best albums of 1984.[23] In 2003, The Courier-Mail listed it as one of "10 Classic Power Pop Albums That Most People Have Never Heard".[24] In 2004, Goldmine said that "the rhythmic switchbacks, fretboard flourishes and baroque mood of 'Lowdown' suggest a complex homage to Britain's Roy Wood and the Move."[25]
Track listing
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Easy Does"
2.
"Waters Part"
3.
"Lowdown"
4.
"Gravel Truck"
5.
"Crows on a Phone Line"
6.
"Ring True"
7.
"Blue Line"
8.
"Flags for Everything"
9.
"Prey"
10.
"Co-Star"
11.
"Ornamental"
12.
"Counting Down"
References
↑ Graff, Gary (2025). 501 Essential Albums of the '80s: The Music Fan's Definitive Guide. Motorbooks. p.202.
↑ Carlton, Bob (August 30, 1984). "Odds and Sods". The Birmingham News. p.4D.
↑ Holt, John (September 15, 1984). "Thanks for our support". Evening Post. Nottingham. p.12.
↑ Fricke, David. "Producer Mitch Easter hopes mother knows best". The Muskegon Chronicle. Rolling Stone. p.6A.
↑ Whitburn, Joel (2001). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums, 1955-2001. Record Research. p.493.
↑ Takiff, Jonathan (February 1, 1985). "Southern Surprises". Features. Philadelphia Daily News. p.61.
↑ Healey, Jon (October 20, 1984). "With New Records Out, City Bands Near Stardom". Entertainment Week. Winston-Salem Journal. p.4.
1 2 The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p.420.
↑ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (2nded.). Visible Ink Press. 1999. p.668.
1 2 McCormick, Moira (October 6, 1984). "Producer Easter Gets Active as Performer". Billboard. Vol.96, no.38. p.35.
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