MAKE IT THE SAME

The Mundanes are an '80s new wave band that included John Linnell on keyboard and sax. They disbanded in 1983, one year after TMBG founded. They have one 7" single. This is that single.

It's... slightly Talking Heads? It makes sense, given the genre inspirations, but it's utterly jarring coming into music that sounds like this after listening to so much They Might Be Giants. It's got good songwriting, for sure — a serenade for someone used on Make It The Same, the titular track, is excellent.

It's interesting that Linnell was involved with a project like this given how far it is from TMBG's songwriting in any sense. TMBG barely knew what a chorus was until the full-band era, and these songs are all-chorus, almost. It's all repeating the same phrase, as is typical of the genre.

It's not just new wave, either, it's good new wave. It's an anomaly, for certain, but one that's definitely worth your time.