It's understandable that members of this Boston-based post-punk quartet don't want to be too closely associated with their early-'80s incarnation as the Proletariat. As its name suggests, the Proletariat was a left-wing group of musical saboteurs (in the classic Gang of Four mold) who, in spite of a couple of memorable recordings, often put their message way in front of their music.

For Churn's debut, the guys are tight as a drum instrumentally, with barreling rhythms, crisp, well-placed hooks (I'm not sure you could call anything here a solo), and nary an ear-piercing note out of place on this five song EP. For all Churn's effort to be a new entity, the disc's title comes from a Gang of Four lyric, and composer Richard Brown's shouting, snarling, in-your-face vocals are still basically a means to an end. Yet there's a line or two about love hidden among the lyrics this time around - and even an occaisonal "sha la la la". This is a fine debut for an accomplished band; it's a pity they didn't include more material.

-David Shirley, Option Magazine,  November 1996