Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms, Some People Think It’s Fun to Entertain by China Crisis

Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms, Some People Think It's Fun to Entertain, China Crisis's debut album, came out on Virgin on 12 November 1982, and its title is as knotty as its sound is lovely. The pair at the core, singer and keyboard player Gary Daly and guitarist and singer Eddie Lundon, had come out of Kirkby, near Liverpool, as a politically charged post-punk outfit steeped in Brian Eno's ambient soundscapes, and you can hear both halves here, with Dave Reilly adding synths and percussion.

With Gil Norton producing, the record floats: cool synth textures, gentle rhythms and melodies that sneak up on you rather than bang down the door. "African and White" is the song that has lingered longest on the countdowns. The album spent 17 weeks on the UK chart, peaking at number 21 in February 1983, and pointed toward the more commercial pop that came next.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.