Industrial Records – the label of Throbbing Gristle first released this pop gem in October 1980 and it was possibly the straightest yet weirdest release the label ever did. Dorothy was described as a 19 year old with no prior releases, but was actually Max the drummer from Rema Rema with help in the song writing department from Alex Ferguson from Alternative TV and Genesis P-Orridge. I Confess is a perfect super cute pop ditty with lyrics that sound like a catholic confession. The flipside Softness is a DIY Disco dancefloor nugget with Dorothy’s silky smooth vocals.Our take: Sealed Records digs up another obscurity, and this time it’s the one-off single by Dorothy, whose sole single came out on Throbbing Gristle’s label, Industrial Records. Along with Dorothy (who played drums in the band Rema Rema under her middle name, Max), the lineup on this single includes Genesis P’Orridge and Alex Fergusson, who would shortly form the group Psychic TV. (According to Discogs, Dorothy / Max was also invited to join Alternative TV but declined, though she briefly joined the group many years later.) “I Confess” sounds to me like a novelty pop song, its primitive synthesizer and faux-naïve vocals sounding like something they’d play a clip of in a documentary about punk to stand in contrast to the “authenticity” and “realness” of the new punk scene. This being Genesis P’Orridge, there is an element of subversion, though. The song’s lyrics are a Catholic-style confession in which the singer owns up to liking the things teenage girls like—boys and pop music—though there are hints of seediness, like the “magazines in shrink-wrapped covers.” Like Crass’s “Our Wedding,” it sounds like a troll, but also a total earworm. The b-side is probably a little more palatable to your average Industrial Records fan. While the synth sounds are still a little cheesy, the tough-sounding disco beat make it a secret weapon in any goth night DJ set.
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