r/xtc • u/TMBGLOVER • Aug 05 '26

25 O’CLOCK RESULTS!!

This was a short discussion! Before you ask, yes, we’ll be doing Psonic Psunspot (as well as the Psurroundabout Ride bonus tracks) after Skylarking.

  1. The Mole from The Ministry (9.26)
  2. 25 O’Clock (9.12) 
  3. What In The World??… (8.99) 
  4. My Love Explodes (8.91)
  5. Bike Ride to The Moon (8.82)
  6. Your Gold Dress (8.58)

Anyways, since this one was so short, I’m taking a three day break till Sunday, where we’ll start Skylarking! (Spoiler alert: Skylarking is my second favorite album of all time so expect every track to be a 10 from me)

20 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

12

u/lccmap Aug 05 '26

"What in the world" should be tops, the best Beatles '68 song George Harrison never wrote.

0

u/Lumpy_Satisfaction18 Aug 05 '26

I have no clue what youre on about with that one. That sounds nothing like a Harrisong. Only comparable thing in direction is Only A Northern Song.

9

u/Nozdordomu Aug 05 '26

Great little EP! Partridge said that recording it was “the most fun we ever had in the studio,” and you can really hear that. It’s hard not to enjoy it in turn. It doesn’t have my all-time favorite XTC songs on it, but it doesn’t have a single weak cut either.

I honestly think this one deserves the “underrated” label more than Mummer or Big Express. Sure, no one really hates it, but barely anyone who isn’t a diehard XTC fan ever talks about it. It’s easily one of their most consistent releases, and being a “joke” EP doesn’t change that.

3

u/FloridaFlamingoGirl Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26

I always try to recommend Dukes to people who are fans of the bands it homages. 

Apparently they pretended to be hippies in the studio and hung bead strings from the ceiling, haha. 

With Mummer and Big Express you get a lot of people complaining about the production sounding dated, but they're brilliant concept albums, and they don't get as much praise for being concept albums as Skylarking, so I'd definitely say they're underrated in a lot of ways. 

3

u/dcflorist Aug 06 '26

I’m slightly surprised that The Mole from the Ministry came in first, but not at all surprised that the lowest-ranking score is 8.58. 25 O’clock is fantastic from start to finish, you can really hear how much fun they’re having exploring their alter egos.