I can always count on the 80's for digging up old music gems and making them into addictions! .....And you can always count on the 80's for finding the quirkiest band names of all time. That brings me to the Scottish new wave act called AZTEC CAMERA. Haven't really looked much into the origins of how they formed, but I'm guessing that they came up with their name after one of their members returned with photographs taken during some Central American archaeological expedition regarding the history of the ancient Aztecs. Just taking a wild stab there; I bet the name 'AZTEC CAMERA' carries an entirely different significance than that. I surely wasn't around when the Aztecs ruled what was once called Mesoamerica back in the 14th century, but I was around when AZTEC CAMERA released their third studio album simply called "Love". But way back in 1987, I had no knowledge of this band's existence; digging them and this album up would become an archaeological discovery of my own about two or three years ago after hearing a really cool song of theirs on the radio called "Oblivious", then later deciding that I would hear everything they released back in the 80's. I've gone through at least three complete rounds of this "Love" album now, and almost made it four tonight while sitting in my apartment. But as they say, duty calls, and one can only listen to so much good music before matters of other importance steal your time away. Totally, totally impressed with this band's sound—from lead vocalist (and Howard Jones sound-alike) Roddy Frame to Roddy's great background vocalists and the light synthpop sound. Frame...... Hmmmm, could it be that Roddy's surname, 'Frame', is where the idea for AZTEC CAMERA originated, speaking of cameras and photographs and all? Then speaking of frames even further, every one of these songs deserves to have its own picture taken, framed and displayed on the wall in somebody's art gallery, but I'd like to zoom the camera lens in on "Deep & Wide & Tall", "Paradise", "Working In A Goldmine", "How Men Are" and "One And One" and especially "Paradise" (the second part of this song that occurs when the pitch changes is what really makes it stand out!) because those are my favorites in that exact order. In a personal musical photo album that's already full of memorable hits, the songs from "Love" are the latest captivating arrivals for my diversified portfolio:
1. Deep & Wide & Tall
2. How Men Are
3. Everybody Is A Number One
4. More Than A Law
5. Somewhere In My Heart
6. Working In A Goldmine
7. One And One
8. Paradise
9. Killermont Street
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