Points on the Curve

If Japan's Tin Drum album of 1981 sought to redefine the similarities between Oriental melodic structure and Occidental music, then Wang Chung's Points on the Curve pushed the boundaries further toward the mainstream ("Even If You Dream," "Don't Be My Enemy"). It is baffling, then, that such an album should prove a more substantial hit in the States, where "True Love" was memorably adapted as a score to an incestuous rape scene on Miami Vice. Several tracks lend themselves fervently to film; the underlying menace of "Wait" reared its head in To Live and Die in L.A.. Far from the commercial tones of "Dance Hall Days," the song for which they are best known in the U.K., is the dramatic landscape of "Devoted Friends," a stark memo to a companion. Since the album's original release in 1984, it has seen many reissues with as many running orders, and although the sound is a little dated, its craftmanship still holds true. ~ Kelvin Hayes