Cypress (album)
| Cypress | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1984 | |||
| Recorded | Spring 1984 | |||
| Studios | Drive-In, Reflection | |||
| Genres | Pop, power pop | |||
| Label | I.R.S. | |||
| Producers | Let's Active, Don Dixon | |||
| Let's Active chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Cypress | ||||
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Cypress is the debut album by the American band Let's Active, released in 1984.[1][2] The band supported the album by opening for Echo and the Bunnymen on a UK tour.[3] The first single was "Blue Line",[4] a cover of a song by the Outskirts.[5] Cypress peaked at No. 138 on the Billboard 200 and was also a success on college radio stations.[6][7]
Production
Let's Active included Mitch Easter on guitar, Sara Romweber on drums, and Faye Hunter on bass, with the latter two departing after the album was completed.[8][9] Cypress was produced by the band and Don Dixon and recorded during the spring of 1984 at Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with the band using many first takes.[10][5] After lightning struck the studio, Let's Active finished the sessions at Reflection Studios, in Charlotte.[11] The band tried for a "light" style and sound on the Afoot EP but went for spontaneity and feeling on Cypress.[12] "Blue Line" is a cover of a song released in 1981 by English band the Outskirts.[5] Shortly before her death in 2013, Hunter explained: "I found the Outskirts single of this song when visiting family in London way back when and fell in love with it. That's how we ended up covering it."[13]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| All Music Guide to Rock |  [14] |
| Robert Christgau | C+[15] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [16] |
| The Great Indie Discography | 4/10[17] |
| Omaha World-Herald | [18] |
| The Philadelphia Inquirer | [19] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [9] |
The Philadelphia Inquirer said, "The melodies have a pretty lilt, as do the charmingly sour vocals, and the rough, speedy rhythms prevent the music from becoming merely attractive."[19] The New York Times stated that the album "decorates relatively simple pop-song structures with quirky, intricately dense arrangements."[20] The Globe and Mail opined, "The decorative Byrds and Beatle-pop evocations here ride that edge between charming and cloying, but there's nothing simple or shallow about Easter's abstract reworking of his sources or his emotionally charged lyrics."[21] The Los Angeles Times praised the "playful, Monkees-style innocence."[22]
Robert Christgau noted that "if only Mitch Easter had something to say, maybe Let's Active albums would sound as great as Byrds albums".[15] The Houston Chronicle called Cypress "sound-sculpted album of weaving textures and convoluted dynamics".[23] The Morning Call considered it to be among the best albums of 1984.[24] In 2003, The Courier-Mail listed it as one of "10 Classic Power Pop Albums That Most People Have Never Heard".[25] In 2004, Goldmine said that "the rhythmic switchbacks, fretboard flourishes and baroque mood of 'Lowdown' suggest a complex homage to Britain's Roy Wood and the Move."[26]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Easy Does" | 3:24 |
| 2. | "Waters Part" | 5:00 |
| 3. | "Lowdown" | 3:42 |
| 4. | "Gravel Truck" | 1:07 |
| 5. | "Crows on a Phone Line" | 3:52 |
| 6. | "Ring True" | 3:36 |
| 7. | "Blue Line" | 3:00 |
| 8. | "Flags for Everything" | 2:50 |
| 9. | "Prey" | 3:30 |
| 10. | "Co-Star" | 3:06 |
| 11. | "Ornamental" | 3:21 |
| 12. | "Counting Down" | 4:00 |
References
- ↑ Graff, Gary (2025). 501 Essential Albums of the '80s: The Music Fan's Definitive Guide. Motorbooks. p. 202.
- ↑ Carlton, Bob (August 30, 1984). "Odds and Sods". The Birmingham News. p. 4D.
- ↑ Holt, John (September 15, 1984). "Thanks for our support". Evening Post. Nottingham. p. 12.
- ↑ Fricke, David. "Producer Mitch Easter hopes mother knows best". The Muskegon Chronicle. Rolling Stone. p. 6A.
- 1 2 3 McCormick, Moira (October 6, 1984). "Producer Easter Gets Active as Performer". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 38. p. 35.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2001). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums, 1955-2001. Record Research. p. 493.
- ↑ Takiff, Jonathan (February 1, 1985). "Southern Surprises". Features. Philadelphia Daily News. p. 61.
- ↑ Healey, Jon (October 20, 1984). "With New Records Out, City Bands Near Stardom". Entertainment Week. Winston-Salem Journal. p. 4.
- 1 2 The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 420.
- ↑ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (2nd ed.). Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 668.
- ↑ Taylor, Gary (September 30, 1984). "Disc Watcher". Magazine. SouthtownStar. p. 11.
- ↑ Huffman, Eddie (November 7, 1984). "Let's Active plays Brewery tonight". The Daily Tar Heel. p. 4.
- ↑ cairomcmillion (July 13, 2011). Blue Line - Outskirts. Retrieved July 8, 2026 – via YouTube.
- ↑ All Music Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). Backbeat Books. 2002. p. 650.
- 1 2 "Let's Active". Robert Christgau. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
- ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. p. 189.
- ↑ Strong, Martin C. (2003). The Great Indie Discography (2nd ed.). Canongate. p. 400.
- ↑ Catlin, Roger (October 7, 1984). "Reviews". Happenings. Omaha World-Herald. p. 4.
- 1 2 Tucker, Ken (September 30, 1984). "Let's Active Cypress". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. D11.
- ↑ Palmer, Robert (October 3, 1984). "The Pop Life: Guitar Bands, an Old Formula Remains Vibrant". The New York Times. p. C21.
- ↑ Lacey, Liam (January 3, 1985). "Cypress Let's Active". The Globe and Mail. p. E3.
- ↑ London, Michael (November 4, 1984). "The Record Rack". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 76.
- ↑ Racine, Marty (February 22, 1985). "New South music revolution comes to town". Houston Chronicle. p. 6.1.
- ↑ Righi, Len (December 30, 1984). "Springsteen, Prince Stemmed British Wave". The Morning Call. p. F1.
- ↑ Mengel, Noel (January 3, 2003). "Power pop...". Today. The Courier-Mail. p. 29.
- ↑ Mills, Fred (January 23, 1984). "Reissues: Let's Active". Goldmine. Vol. 30, no. 2. pp. 62, 64.