WHAT YOU CAN'T SEE WON'T HURT YOU
Unlike Mental Floss, Martin Atkins' first Invisible Records release was a self-contained project rather than de facto showcase. Wait, let me restate that so it makes sense. Mental Floss was a collection of previously recorded songs by a wide variety of New Brunswick bands; for WYCSWHY Atkins invited a select few to record or contribute music aligning with his philosophy of "true" independent music. As Atkins' put it, "a group of artists tired of having their music watered down or hyped up ... [so] instead of 'shopping' demo tapes – we all just did it." The result sounds largely unified, with musicians, particularly Atkins, making multiple appearances across various tracks. Several songs feature the combination of electronic, dance, and menace taking hold in clubs at decade's end, leading into the Industrial movement of the 1990s. Not that WYCSWHY was constrained to a singular style. Leather Studded Diaphragm provided punk/goth/camp levity with their "Chocodaemon"; and then there's the Spy Gods' punk/funk fusion of "Clown Man" that for me is the runaway performance (LSD and Cleft Palate probably received most airplay). The disk is long out of print and mostly forgotten, as evidenced by sites that claim to list the "complete" Invisible records discography, but exclude WYCSWHY and releases by LSD and 15.
The album's package design can't be fully appreciated here. Atkins' DIY approach was a black, die-cut sleeve (which let the record label show through) inserted into a screen-printed shopping bag with handles. Clever bastard.
What You Can't See Won't Hurt You, Invisible Records, 1988
SIDE ONE
THE VOODOO DEATH BEAT — Dance 'Til You Die
THE BIZARR SEX TRIO — Homo Erectus
THE LUNAR BEAR ENSEMBLE — Untied Dogs
SIDE TWO
BRIAN BRAIN — Work, Work, Work!
LEATHER STUDDED DIAPHRAGM — Chocodaemon (1&2)
THE LUNAR BEAR ENSEMBLE — AlieNation
[CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE]