Future Shock (EP)


Future Shock is the debut EP of New Zealand post-punk band The Gordons, released in December 1980. The EP was initially self-released, later reissued multiple times by Flying Nun Records following their signing to the label.

Background

The Gordons formed in March 1980 in Christchurch, and quickly gained notoriety for the volume of their live shows and their aggressive sound. Following a lost recording session at Sausage Studios in Wellington while on tour, they decided to attempt again at Harlequin Studios in Auckland. The three songs were recorded and mixed in a single budget midnight-dawn session on a 8-track tape machine.
In contrast to much of the New Zealand post-punk emerging at that time, the sound of the release was much more noisy and distorted than their contemporaries. The first pressing of the EP was self-released by the band, with the first run of 500 in December 1980 selling out within a month, requiring another 500 copies. In 1981, Flying Nun started distributing the EP, later repressing it themselves in 1982 following the release of the band's self-titled album on the label the year before. The EP was reissued in 1988 on its own, and bundled into a release alongside the first Gordons album, after Parker and Halverson had reformed into Bailter Space.

Critical reception

Trouser Press wrote that it "matched progressive punk songwriting and aggression with an uncategorizably deliberate yet extreme wall of flailing sheetmetal guitar."

Track listing

Side A
  1. Future Shock
Side B
  1. Machine Song
  2. ''Adults And Children''

Personnel

  • Brent McLachlan
  • Alister Parker
  • John Halvorsen