Infected by The The

Infected, the second The The album, landed on 17 November 1986 through Some Bizzare and Epic, and it's Matt Johnson at his most feverish. The The was still essentially Johnson alone, calling in guests such as Neneh Cherry and J.G. Thirlwell, with Roli Mosimann producing, and the record sounds like one man trying to fill a stadium with his own nerves.

It's big, brooding post-punk with a pop sting: tense grooves, thick layers and Johnson's grim, urgent delivery. Four UK singles came off it, "Heartland", "Infected", "Slow Train to Dawn" and "Sweet Bird of Truth", and "Heartland" became the band's best-selling single, reaching number 29 and staying on the chart for 10 weeks. The album only got as high as number 14 in Britain, but it hung around for 30 weeks, making it the most successful The The studio album.

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