The Crackdown is the fifth studio album by English electronic band Cabaret Voltaire, released in August 1983 jointly through record labels Some Bizzare and Virgin. It was produced by the band themselves and Flood. Mixing their earlier experimental sound with more conventional dance rhythms, the album received positive reviews and was listed on NME's "Albums of the Year" in 1983.
Background and recording
The Crackdown was Cabaret Voltaire's first full studio album following founding member Chris Watson's departure, and their first release for Virgin Records via Some Bizzare. This album marks a turning point in the band's discography, straddling their early experimental work with their later more conventional electronic dance-funk output. It was recorded and mixed at Trident Studios, London, England in late 1982.
AllMusic wrote that the album "features the band working a number of menacing electronic textures into a basic dance/funk rhythm".
Upon its release, the album was given a 8 out of 10 rating by Smash Hits reviewer Peter Martin who wrote that The Crackdown put the band's earlier experimental sound into practice: "Dense, hard-edged sequencer pulsebeats now swamp a strange strangled voice. The sound is panic-stricken and the effect is hypnotic."[7]
It was ranked at number 11 in NME's "Albums of the Year" list for 1983.[10]Trouser Press, meanwhile, was less enthusiastic, accusing the album of being "rather staid-sounding" while clarifying that their indifference "shouldn't be taken as a blanket panning."[11]
Retrospectively, The Quietus reviewer Albert Freeman wrote: "The production is noticeably cleaner than their underfinanced independent recordings, but it’s hardly less dark, and the added clarity serves to show off the diverse, layered productions, which draw equally from dub, funk, and early electro. Mallinder’s vocals are easier to cipher than they had been before, but the pop tones they would later take on are evident on a few tracks from the album: the title track, ‘Taking Time’, ‘Animation’ and the cynically comical ‘Why Kill Time (When You Can Kill Yourself)’."[12]
AllMusic described The Crackdown as "one of Cabaret Voltaire's strongest albums" and "one of their most distinctive, challenging records."[3]
