1981
New and Developing Artists
“New York’s tiny Cachalot label proves it’s really on the move with the release from this much talked about N.Y. modernist band. Led by pompadour crowned Lyn Byrd, the trio boasts a guitar strummed driven sci-fi sound. that’s infectious as it is quirky. They overlay the rhythm with synthesizer lines and some of the cleverest teenage vocals around. This is trendy, trippy entrancing music permeated with the feel of ’60s monster movies.”
1979
Rocker New York Bubbling
“…But for me, it’s Lyn Byrd who steals the show with just two numbers, Cool Chick and Rhythm Of The Body. Her voice—very low, very sexy, smooth rather than sultry—is instantly riveting…Enter disco-rock drums, jittery rhythm guitar, droning vocals and a probing, persistent synthesizer that coats everything over with mysterious, tense tones. it’s all very weird, but it works beautifully.”
—Sharon Presley
1980
Filet de Forty-Five: Comateens, Cool Chick/Danger Zone
“A rumble, a rhythm machine, a slinky bass, a sultry voice. A love song in the traditional sense…a vibrant, fresh-sounding rocker. A terrific debut that will charm even the most cynical listener. More, more, more!”
—Raiph Buonagura
1984
Comateens Get Cute
“…A funked up dance number, ‘Get Off My Case’ was picked up by WKTU deejay Carlos DeJesus who started playing it heavily. WBLS followed suit and Comateens had a dance club hit.”
—Richard Fantina
1983
The Comateens: Wide-Awake Rock
“The Comateens’ performance at the 9:30 club last night had a bright, brittle, modernistic sheen, but at heart it was nothing but great rock ‘n’ roll sleaze. This long-suffering threesome from New York, augmented by a flesh-and-blood drummer rather than their usual rhythm machine, dragged the goodies out of musty suburban garages of yore into the harsh light of nowsville…Songs that smoldered on previous airings now blazed. The whole group worked harder and played looser, swinging hard and wide, getting great results time and again. The group also broke into more overtly pop material. These were juicy, ’60s-styled ravers that rode high and wild before the might of Oliver North’s jangling rhythm guitar…coiled funky numbers that peaked with a hot reading of Get Off My Case.”
—Howard Wuelfing
1984
Identity Crisis Over
“Resist Her, for example, fleshes out buoyant power pop harmonies with a wry arrangement that plays against listners’ expectations just enough to keep things interesting, while Confessions slips a snakily sinuous vocal line through a dense swamp of funk rhythms. Both songs have all the ingrediants for chart success, yet somehow manage to avoid the cloying obviousness of many hits.”
—J. D. Considine
1980
Voice Choices
“I’ve seen half a set of deadpan pop by these artistic youngsters and have always wanted to catch the other half. In this week maybe I’ll get my chance…”
1979
New Actss
“Lineup of two femmes and one male is unusual. All sing with leads usually handled by Nic Dembling, ex of the Eels, who’s able on bass gituar. Lynn Byrd’s leads are the most interesting, a cross between matter-of-fact and sultry…”
1984
A Tale of Two Indies
“The Comateens come atcha with a simple enough modus operandi; Make it danceable. keep it simple and don’t preach. It’s a plan of attack countless self-respecting bands espouse, but the Comateens go them one better. They make the formula work. They succeed with modest instrumentation—bass guitar, bass, keyboards and rhythm machine—that summons stylistic references to James Brown, the Tom Tom Club and Blondie. The Comateens’ pan-cultural party music sports a funk core covered with a bright synth-pop veneer. Get Off My case digs into a King-James-version groove nearly identical to the Godfather’s Get Up Offa That Thing. With crisp ninth chords by guitarist Oliver North…”
1984
Comateens
“…The Comateens play a lively range of dance music, from electro-funk to pop to garage band raw. Their creaky old synthesizer sounds more like a Farfisa organ than a computer, which lends warmth and passion to such songs as Get Off My Case, The Late Mistake and the Sgt. Pepperesque Pictures on a String. The band has a flair for oldies — Pictures on a String has a version of the Crystals’ Uptown—but translated into their own musical language… ”
—Karen Schlosberg
1980
A Tale of Two Indies
“2×5 is a coherent album bursting at the seams with some of the best examples of post-Parallel Lines pop around. With nary a turkey on the platter, and with a couple of real gems — notably the Fleshtones’ ‘Shadowline’, the Comateens’ ‘Late Night City’, and Student Teachers’ “Looks”—Thau has assembled a mighty collection of teenage pop, the likes of which have seldom been seen since the heyday of Phil Spector, or at least since the bubblegum scene of the late ’60’s which Thau, as national promo man for Buddha Records, was part of…He (Destri) produced the album with much of the aural richness exhibited on the last two albums by Blondie. the result has all of the bands sounding exuberant, smart and technically accomplished… The Comateens cut, ‘Late Night City’, finishes the album in the style that begins it. This is a great teenage honesty, a cool keyboard sound and hooks galore…As a collection of cuts by New York bands, 2×5 is totally successful, and so fresh that it might have been called Yes New York. This album could appeal to anyone who bought Eat to the Beat, or either Cars album, or for that matter, anyone who cares about American pop, specifically the New York keyboard sound.
—John Buckley
1980
“‘This wave of bands more closely resembles the wave that Blondie, Talking Heads and Television came out of — sort of a melodic wave, you know?’ Jimmy Destri clearly was excited about his first album production job, a compilation featuring five young New York bands: the Fleshtones, Comateens, Student Teachers, Revelons and Bloodless Pharaohs. Destri said he hadn’t yet played the album for Mike Chapman, who produces both Blondie and the Knack. ‘Me and Mike have a very competitive relationship. But I’ll tell you, the drum sound is nicked from him. We want to make these bands famous, so we couldn’t be really artistic; we had to be very commercial, and half the drum sound is from My Sharona.”
1981
Album Picks: Comateens
Comateens
“Three young humans and a percussion machine named ‘Rolly’ rock with more feeling than you might expect, crafting air-playable pop hooks like Nightmare and Late Night City, and darker moods with Cool Chick.”
1981
Album Airplay
WQBK-FM / ALBANY
ADDS:
COMATEENS — Cachalot
DEVO —WB
JOHN ENTWISTLE — Atco
JOHN HALL —EMI-America
JET — Third Coast
MINK DeVILLE (12") — Atlantic
GARY NUMAN — Atco
ROSSINGTON COLLINS BAND— MCA
NEIL SCHON & JAN HAMMER —Columbia
WALL OF VOODOO — I.R.S.
HEAVY ACTION:
ROLLING STONES — Rolling Stones
KINKS — Arista
ZZ TOP — WB
POLICE (single) — A&M
NILS LOFGREN — Backstreet/MCA
GO-GO’S — IRS
PRETENDERS — Sire
GRATEFUL DEAD — Arista
HALL & OATES — RCA
IAN HUNTER — Chrysalis
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
WHFS-FM / WASHINGTON
ADDS:
BILLY BURNETTE — Columbia
COMATEENS — Cachalot
KARLA DeVITO — Epic / Cleve. Int’l
DEVO — WB
JOHN ENTWISTLE — Atco
STEVE HACKETT — Epic
MEDIUM MEDIUM (EP) — Cachalot
MINK DeVILLE (12") — Atlantic
TOMMY TUTONE — Columbia
ULTRAVOX — Chrysalis
HEAVY ACTION:
ROLLING STONES — Rolling Stones
PRETENDERS — Sire
GO-GO’S — IRS
RICKIE LEE JONES — WB
PSYCHEDELIC FURS — Columbia
KINKS —Arista
ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK — Virgin / Epic
LITTLE FEAT — WB
GRATEFUL DEAD — Arista
LENE LOVICH (EP) — Stiff / Epic
1984
For the record, here are 6 bands to watch
“The Comateens, a New York trio signed to mercury, headlined the Ritz with a set of bright, hummable pop songs. Their material is commercial, polished, and not overly serious. Excellent, knowledgeable party band.”
—Brian Chin
