The blueprint for much of what would pass as current during the late '70s post-punk period, that glorious moment when goth, the new romantics, and punk itself were all lumped together under the hopelessly inadequate banner of "new musick," Remember is not the easiest album to listen to -- although, back in the day, it was harder still. Caught between the absolute poles of a tuneful Pop Group and an angry blues band, with Jackie Leven's vocals rounded enough to seem pleasant, but edged with a rage which was discomforting regardless, Remember opens with the band's first undisputed classic, the grinding "Butcher Boy." Vaguely reminiscent of Television circa "Marquee Moon," but set closer to an abattoir than a graveyard, the song packs all of Doll by Doll's greatest strengths -- piercing guitars, tumultuous rhythms, and a nervous, twitching danciness which leaves one in mind of an overactive stalker. The succeeding "Chances" is more digestible -- hindsight paints it as a clash between the Banshees' "Staircase" and something loud by the Skids, but with a Southern rock band popping up in the mid-section, to harmonize the listener into calm unawareness. And then "Sleeping Partners" unearths the band's "romantic" side, and it's back to square one. Hindsight, and subsequent developments in sonic terrorism, have smoothed some of the edges off Remember -- indeed, a few of the lengthier instrumental sections, and the odd unexpected vocal passage, seem even more old-fashioned than they actually are ("More Than Human" has a real touch of the Hall & Oates to its harmonies). Still, Remember is a disturbingly thuggish listen, bludgeoning and battering and not even pretending to be your friend. And Joy Division thought they were being anti-social.

(by Dave Thompson, All Music Guide)