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The Burden of Mules

The Burden of Mules is the debut studio album by English post-punk band The Wolfgang Press. It was released on 1 August 1983, through record label 4AD.

Track listing

Critical reception

AllMusic's review was negative, calling the album "impenetrable" and some tracks "so morose and vehement as to verge on self-parody". Trouser Press called it "dark and cacophonous; an angry, intense slab of post-punk gloom that is best left to its own (de)vices."

Ernest Simpson of Treble was more positive, stating, "As the times changed, so did their [Wolfgang Press'] sound, but The Burden of Mules still stands as not only the beginnings of a great band, but as a definition of a specific time and place in music history. They trod the dark side of post-punk with a gloom and doom shared by many of their contemporaries, but it is their penchant for theatrics that makes this album stand out."

Personnel

The Wolfgang Press
  • Andrew Gray – guitar <small>(tracks A1, A4 and B2)</small>, percussion <small>(tracks A1 and B2)</small>, drums <small>(tracks A3 and B1)</small>, sleeve photography
  • David Steiner – drums <small>(track B1)</small>
  • Michael Allen – drums <small>(tracks A1 and B1)</small>, percussion <small>(tracks A1, A2, A4–A6 and B2)</small>, bass guitar <small>(tracks A2–A6, B2 and B3)</small>, vocals <small>(tracks A2–A5 and B1–B3)</small>, synthesizer <small>(tracks A2 and A5)</small>, piano <small>(tracks A6, B2 and B3)</small>, organ <small>(track A6)</small>, drum loops <small>(track B2)</small>, cymbal and saxophone <small>(track B3)</small>, production
  • Mark Cox – synthesizer <small>(tracks A2 and A4–B3)</small>, percussion <small>(tracks A1, A2, A4–A6)</small>, clarinet <small>(tracks A2, A5 and B3)</small>, "noises" <small>(tracks A3, B1 and B2)</small>, pixiephone and chimes <small>(tracks A2 and A4)</small>, piano <small>(tracks A2 and A5)</small>, organ <small>(tracks A1 and B1)</small>, "scratches" and whistling <small>(track A6)</small>, bass guitar <small>(track A3)</small>, production
  • Richard Thomas – drums <small>(tracks A2, A4–A6 and B3)</small>, flute and piano <small>(track B3)</small>
Technical

References

External links