ARTIST: Section 25 
TITLE: Always Now
YEAR RELEASED: 1981
CHART ACTION: None
SINGLES: None – singles were released on their own
OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Not over here.
LINEUP: Larry Cassidy, Vincent Cassidy, Paul Wiggin
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Factory Records band mines the same ore that Joy Division did, with limited success.
SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: At times, you just want to give Larry Cassidy a pep talk or something. His dour voice, dour lyrics, and dour bass playing colors Section 25’s sound.
The group is minimalist in approach, with spare guitar and keyboards over foreboding bass lines and semi-dance rhythm drums. It’s definitely in the same vein as Joy Division, but without the sometimes uplifiting moments that Ian Curtis provided through the gloom.
There’s some decent cuts here for you post-punk pre-goth types (“Dirty Disco” for sure). Otherwise, it’s a ‘you like it maybe or you don’t probably’ record. For me, the bass work from Larry Cassidy is strong, but the gloom holds me back from fully signing on.
NOTES & MINUTIAE: Wiggin was their third guitar player that they had in just two years.
IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: Yes, a couple with extra tracks and one with a live set. The extra cuts, singles and B-sides, at times are better than the album tracks, especially “Girls Don’t Count”.
GRADE: C+: I’m not sold on all of it, and what I am sold on others may not be.
But Is It Any Good? 