Slow – Against the Glass [1985; Zulu Records]

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On the only EP by Canadian group Slow, the band plays a strain of artsy punk with proto-grunge tones and a wide streak of humor.  Sounding something like a Dead Kennedys homage with near-garage-level production, Slow show a knack for abrupt shifts into hard beats with chords to match, and while the original release of the EP featured just six tracks, the band packs plenty of personality into those tunes, along with a glut of earworm riffs.  Reissues included the two tracks of the band’s only single, “I Broke the Circle” and “Black is Black”, which move deeper into the groove-based approach, making for a nice close to the set.  Good stuff, and a shame that there’s not more than eight songs to their catalog.

Here’s the cover art for the I Broke the Circle 7″.

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Rosemary Rice & Tony Aless and His Quartet – Good Housekeeping’s Plan for Reducing the Sporting Way [1959; Harmony]

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On this exercise record, a fairly hands-off approach is taken, with narrator Rosemary Rice explaining the movements of a given exercise, followed by a period of light jazz filler before the next exercise is covered.  Methods include swinging an imaginary golf club, pretending to toss a beach ball, miming fencing, and so on.  The second half drops the sports framing to focus on regular calisthenics, with the detached presentation retained.  The backing music is pleasant enough, with renditions of old tunes like “Oh! Susanna” and “Alouette”, and the exercises cover a nice range across the body, but in terms of distinctiveness, the release is somewhat lacking.