I Start Counting were one of those mid-80s indie synth pop bands, like Colourbox and Freur, whose hits you probably know and may even have lurking on vinyl 12" somewhere in your loft or garage, but who sadly never made it into the public consciousness despite a fair amount of airplay.

SSQ first released their debut album Playback in 1983 under Enigma Records. The band's first live performance was held at the Greenworld Distribution warehouse in Torrance, which was then the location of the Enigma label. The video for "Synthicide" later premiered on West Coast television and brought greater notoriety for the five-member band.

An album containing a wealth of subtly amazing (and often delightfully odd) things happening within what at first glance can superficially seem like pleasantly slick commercial new wave. Intricate, hyper catchy and full of exceeding smart choices in instrumental voicings and stereo imaging, I hear passing bits of of the grandiose drama of The Associates (if not their histrionics), the witty and structurally skewed synthetically driven work of The Passage and the arty-to-the-point-of-showing-your-prog-roots work of The Shiny Men and new wave-era Anthony Moore. One of my favorite recent discoveries.