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Playing with a Different Sex

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Playing with a Different Sex
Studio album by
Au Pairs
ReleasedMay 1981 (1981-05)
RecordedApril 1981
StudioJacobs (Surrey, England)
GenrePost-punk
Length40:10
LabelHuman
Producer
Au Pairs chronology
Playing with a Different Sex
(1981) 		Sense and Sensuality
(1982)

Playing with a Different Sex is the debut studio album by English post-punk band Au Pairs. It was released in 1981 by Human Records.

In its retrospective review, AllMusic described the album as "one of the great, and perhaps forgotten, post-punk records."[1] The album peaked at No. 33 in Britain and produced the single "It's Obvious", which reached No. 37 on the Club Play Singles chart in America in 1981.

Themes

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Many of the songs on the album deal with sexual politics. In "Repetition", a David Bowie cover, domestic violence is explored ("I guess the bruises won't show/If she wears long sleeves"), and the possessiveness underlying an open relationship is pilloried in "We're So Cool" ("you must admit/I'm prepared to share/At off-peak times").[2]

Allegations of rape and torture of Irish women imprisoned in the city of Armagh in Northern Ireland are the core content of the song "Armagh", which challenges the notion that "civilized nations" do not torture.[3] The refrain, "We don't torture, we're a civilized nation / We're avoiding any confrontation / We don't torture..." is repeated throughout the song. The lyrics point out that the "American hostages in Iran, [are] heard daily on the news..." while "You can ignore the 32." They continue: "There are 32 women in Armagh jail / Political prisoners here at home," before describing alleged incidents of abuse. The song led to limited distribution of the album in Ireland, when Northern Irish record distributors refused to carry it.[4]

The song "Come Again" refers to the social pressure to "achieve orgasmic equality";[5] a 1982 profile in Mother Jones notes that the song depicts sex "as a dreary ritual in which partners as joyless as lab rats press bars and nose buttons in the hopes of an orgasm as dry and quantifiable as kibble."[6] The song, directed at "those who changed the game" and "brought in new rules", asks "is it real? Are you feeling it?", before turning into a dialogue between the female lead singer and male back up who is evidently attempting to satisfy her: "Am I doing it right?" he asks, and the woman reassures him, "You're not selfish/You're trying hard to please me – please, please me/Is your finger aching?/I can feel you hesitating." The song was banned from the BBC, who feared parental backlash.[7][8]

Reissue

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The album was reissued in 1992 on CD by RPM Records, a subsidiary of Cherry Red Records, with an additional eight tracks, consisting of singles, remixes and previously unreleased songs.

Critical response

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Pitchfork9.3/10[9]
Record Mirror[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]
The Village VoiceB+[12]

In a 1981 review for Record Mirror, Mark Cooper wrote that the Au Pairs' "critique of all forms of possession and sexual stereotyping assumes a devastating power."[10] Playing with a Different Sex was ranked at number 17 on NME's list of the best albums of 1981.[13]

Describing the album in The Rough Guide to Rock (2003), Owen James referred to the band's mix of humour and righteous anger, stating "They don't make them like this anymore."[14] In 2002's She's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll, Gillian G. Gaar suggested that "the taut rhythms and aggressive lyrics of Different Sex make it a classic example of how the influence of punk could steer rock into exciting new areas."[2] The song "Diet", originally released as a single in 1980 and recorded for a session for BBC Radio 1 in 1981, was later released on Equal but Different (1994), a compilation of twenty of the band's BBC performances, and included on the extended reissue of Playing with a Different Sex; it was described by Fact as a "masterpiece of feminist rock" with an almost unparalleled "power and pathos".[15]

In a 2023 review for Pitchfork, Sophie Kemp called it "an oblique piece of music" and "one of those records that requires you to rewire your brain a little bit. They play with dissonance and repetition, taking one phrase and beating it into the ground until it becomes less of an earworm and more of an absurdist echolalia".[9]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Paul Foad, Peter Hammond, Jane Munro and Lesley Woods, except where noted.

Side A

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  1. "We're So Cool" – 3:29
  2. "Love Song" – 2:51
  3. "Set-Up" – 3:21
  4. "Repetition" (David Bowie) – 3:34
  5. "Headache for Michelle" – 6:39

Side B

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  1. "Come Again" – 3:54
  2. "Armagh" – 3:37
  3. "Unfinished Business" – 3:29
  4. "Dear John" – 2:57
  5. "It's Obvious" – 6:19

Reissue bonus tracks

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  1. "You" – 2:52
  2. "Domestic Departure" – 2:22
  3. "Kerb Crawler" – 2:47
  4. "Diet" – 4:19
  5. "It's Obvious" (single version) – 5:47
  6. "Inconvenience" (12" version) – 2:56
  7. "Pretty Boys" – 3:40
  8. "Headache for Michelle" (remix) – 6:38

Personnel

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Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[16]

Au Pairs

  • Jane Munro – bass guitar, production
  • Lesley Woods – guitar, vocals, production
  • Paul Foad – guitar, backing vocals, production
  • Peter Hammond – drums, production

Technical

Charts

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Chart performance for Playing with a Different Sex
Chart (1981) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[17] 33
UK Independent Albums (Record Business)[18] 1

References

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  1. ^ a b Dougan, John. "Playing with a Different Sex – The Au Pairs". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  2. ^ a b Gaar 2002, p. 204.
  3. ^ For context of allegations of abuse against women in Armagh Prison in the late 1970s and early 1980s, see Murray, Raymond (1998). Hard Time: Armagh Gaol 1971–1986. Mercier Press. ISBN 1-85635-223-4.
  4. ^ Reddington 2007, p. 136.
  5. ^ Reynolds, Simon. "The Au Pairs: Stepping Out of Line: The Anthology". Blender. Archived from the original on 19 October 2006. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  6. ^ Swartley, Ariel (June 1981). "Girls! Live! On Stage!". Mother Jones. Vol. 7, no. 5. pp. 25–31. ISSN 0362-8841. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  7. ^ Taormino & Green 1997, p. 101.
  8. ^ Reddington 2007, p. 135.
  9. ^ a b Kemp, Sophie (17 December 2023). "Au Pairs: Playing with a Different Sex Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  10. ^ a b Cooper, Mark (23 May 1981). "Between the sheets". Record Mirror. p. 22.
  11. ^ Halasa 1983, p. 19.
  12. ^ Christgau, Robert (5 October 1981). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  13. ^ "1981 Best Albums And Tracks Of The Year". NME. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  14. ^ James 2003, p. 54.
  15. ^ Marcus, Tony. "The Au Pairs". Fact. Archived from the original on 28 September 2006. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  16. ^ Playing with a Different Sex (liner notes). Au Pairs. Human Records. 1981. HUMAN 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  18. ^ Lazell 1997.

Sources

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