PARANOIA – Shattered Glass

Skating the lines of punk, post-punk and goth, Paranoia was formed in the northern potter’s town of Stoke On Trent from the ashes of politically-oriented protest group, Civil Defence. With the Brereton Brothers on drums and guitar, and bassist Mick Edgington and his wife Jan on vocals, the group had an intimacy not often encountered in punk, their outlook and northern location bringing them onto Riot Squad’s Rot Records for this sole LP. The music is fast, bold and deals with pertinent themes, “Vietnam,” “1984” and “My World” protesting political failures, “Dead Mans Dreams” and “Man In Black” edging towards the gothic. An overlooked classic that reflects the underground musical shifts of the early 1980s.