Jane from Occupied Europe

Jane from Occupied Europe
Jane from Occupied Europe
Studio album by Swell Maps
Released	16 August 1980
Recorded	June 1979 – May 1980 (WMRS, Leamington Spa), except "Mining Villages" July 1977 ("at home"), "Epic's Trip" & "Big Empty Field (No. 2)" March 1980 (London)
Genres	Post-punk; art punk; experimental rock; krautrock; industrial;
Length	44:17
Labels	Rather; Rough Trade; Mute; Secretly Canadian;
Producer	Swell Maps
Swell Maps chronology

Jane from Occupied Europe is the second and final album by the English post-punk band Swell Maps. It was released in 1980 by Rather Records and Rough Trade. In 1989, the album was reissued with eight bonus tracks by Mute, and this edition was subsequently reissued in 2004 by Secretly Canadian.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
Pitchfork	8.2/10^[3]
Record Mirror	^[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[5]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	7/10^[6]
Uncut	^[7]

In 2016, Paste ranked Jane from Occupied Europe at number 42 on its list of the best post-punk albums.^[8] In 2018, Pitchfork listed it as the 165th best album of the 1980s. Pitchfork's Judy Berman wrote: "Swell Maps pasted mostly incomprehensible, drawled vocals into noisy, krautrock-inspired sound collages, straying further beyond the boundaries of any existing genre with each release. Their second album, Jane from Occupied Europe, marked the culmination of that trajectory. It was, most of all, a catalog of thrilling new sounds".^[1]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Robot Factory"	Epic Soundtracks Biggles	2:27
2.	"Let's Buy a Bridge"	Nikki Sudden	1:55
3.	"Border Country"	Nikki Sudden	2:12
4.	"Cake Shop"	Jowe Head	2:25
5.	"The Helicopter Spies"	Nikki Sudden	4:20
6.	"Big Maz in "The Desert from the Trolley""	Swell Maps	5:11
7.	"Big Empty Field"	Epic Soundtracks Biggles	3:44
8.	"Mining Villages"	Epic Soundtracks Phones	1:01
9.	"Collision with a Frogman vs. The Mangrove Delta Plan"	Swell Maps	8:06
10.	"Secret Island"	Nikki Sudden	4:34
11.	"Whatever Happens Next...."	Nikki Sudden	2:58
12.	"Blenheim Shots"	Nikki Sudden	3:42
13.	"A Raincoat's Room"	Epic Soundtracks	1:42
Total length:			44:17

Reissue bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"Let's Build a Car"	Nikki Sudden	3:06
15.	"Epic's Trip"	Epic Soundtracks	0:55
16.	"Secret Island"	Nikki Sudden	6:27
17.	"Amphitheatres"	Swell Maps	2:56
18.	"Big Empty Field (No. 2)"	Epic Soundtracks Biggles	2:59
19.	"The Stairs are Like an Avalanche"	Swell Maps	4:04
20.	"...then Poland"	Swell Maps	0:52
21.	"New York"	Nikki Sudden	3:19

Personnel

Swell Maps^[9]

Nikki Sudden (Adrian Godfrey) – guitar (1–5, 9–12), toys (1, 6), vocals (2, 3, 5, 10–12), Hammond organ (4, 12), handclaps (5, 9), bass (6), eiderdown (6), mumbling (6), piano (11), cover artwork
Epic Soundtracks (Kevin Godfrey) – drums (1–7, 9–12), Hammond organ (1, 10), toys (1, 6, 7), backing vocals (2, 5, 10, 11), piano (3, 6, 9, 13), handclaps (5, 9), violin (6), mumbling (6, 13), guitar (7), saxophone (7), concrete (8), typewriter (8)
Richard "Biggles" Earl – Hammond organ (1), toys (1, 6), guitar (2, 4–7, 9–12), backing vocals (2, 10), electric guitar (3), acoustic guitar (3), handclaps (5, 9), vocals (5, 11), mumbling (6), bass (7), cover artwork
Jowe Head (Stephen Bird) – guitar (1, 4, 7), toys (1), bass (2–5, 9–11), saxophone (2,7), backing vocals (2, 3, 10, 11), vocals (4), pianoforte (6)
David "Phones" Barrington – guitar (5), twelve string guitar (6), violin (6), kazoo (8), vocals (8), handclaps (9), backing vocals (10)
John "Golden" Cockrill – handclaps (5), backing vocals (5), bass (12)

Guest musicians

Barry – organ (2)
John "Baz" Rivers – Hammond organ

Production

Swell Maps – producer, arranger, photography
John Rivers – engineer
Lucy Cameron – photography

References

1 2 3 4 "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". Pitchfork. 10 September 2018. p. 2. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Jane from Occupied Europe – Swell Maps". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
↑ Tangari, Joe (22 November 2004). "Swell Maps: A Trip to Marineville / Jane from Occupied Europe". Pitchfork. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
↑ Westwood, Chris (23 August 1980). "A Speck on the Map". Record Mirror. p. 14.
↑ Wolk, Douglas (2004). "Swell Maps". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 799–800. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
↑ Kreilkamp, Ivan (1995). "Swell Maps". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 392–93. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
↑ "Swell Maps: Jane from Occupied Europe". Uncut. p. 123. Jane... majors in innocent instrumental prog-rock...
↑ "The 50 Best Post-Punk Albums". Paste. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
↑ "Swell Maps – Jane From Occupied Europe – CD (Album, Enhanced + 2 more), 2004 [r1246602]". Discogs. Retrieved 5 June 2026.

External links

Jane from Occupied Europe at Discogs (list of releases)

[pitchfork-1] 1 2 3 4 "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". Pitchfork. 10 September 2018. p. 2. Retrieved 24 November 2020.

[2] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Jane from Occupied Europe – Swell Maps". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 April 2013.

[3] Tangari, Joe (22 November 2004). "Swell Maps: A Trip to Marineville / Jane from Occupied Europe". Pitchfork. Retrieved 25 April 2013.

[4] Westwood, Chris (23 August 1980). "A Speck on the Map". Record Mirror. p. 14.

[5] Wolk, Douglas (2004). "Swell Maps". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 799–800. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.

[6] Kreilkamp, Ivan (1995). "Swell Maps". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 392–93. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.

[7] "Swell Maps: Jane from Occupied Europe". Uncut. p. 123. Jane... majors in innocent instrumental prog-rock...

[8] "The 50 Best Post-Punk Albums". Paste. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2020.

[9] "Swell Maps – Jane From Occupied Europe – CD (Album, Enhanced + 2 more), 2004 [r1246602]". Discogs. Retrieved 5 June 2026.

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