Cypress (album)

Cypress
Studio album by
Let's Active
Released1984
RecordedSpring 1984
StudioDrive-In, Reflection
GenrePop, power pop
LabelI.R.S.
ProducerLet's Active, Don Dixon
Let's Active chronology
Afoot
(1983) 		Cypress
(1984) 		Big Plans for Everybody
(1986)
Singles from Cypress
  1. "Blue Line"
    Released: 1984

Cypress is the debut album by the American band Let's Active, released in 1984.[1][2] The band supported the album by opening for Echo and the Bunnymen on a UK tour.[3] The first single was "Blue Line".[4] Cypress peaked at No. 138 on the Billboard 200 and was also a success on college radio stations.[5][6]

Production

Let's Active included Mitch Easter on guitar, Sara Romweber on drums, and Faye Hunter on bass, with the latter two departing after the album was completed.[7][8] Cypress was produced by the band and Don Dixon and recorded during the spring of 1984 at Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with the band using many first takes.[9][10] After lightning struck the studio, Let's Active finished the sessions at Reflection Studios, in Charlotte.[11] The band tried for a "light" style and sound on the Afoot EP but went for spontaneity and feeling on Cypress.[12] "Blue Line" is a cover of the Outskirts song.[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All Music Guide to Rock[13]
Robert ChristgauC+[14]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[15]
The Great Indie Discography4/10[16]
Omaha World-Herald[17]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[18]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]

The Philadelphia Inquirer said, "The melodies have a pretty lilt, as do the charmingly sour vocals, and the rough, speedy rhythms prevent the music from becoming merely attractive."[18] The New York Times stated that the album "decorates relatively simple pop-song structures with quirky, intricately dense arrangements."[19] The Globe and Mail opined, "The decorative Byrds and Beatle-pop evocations here ride that edge between charming and cloying, but there's nothing simple or shallow about Easter's abstract reworking of his sources or his emotionally charged lyrics."[20] The Los Angeles Times praised the "playful, Monkees-style innocence."[21]

Robert Christgau noted that "if only Mitch Easter had something to say, maybe Let's Active albums would sound as great as Byrds albums".[14] The Houston Chronicle called Cypress "sound-sculpted album of weaving textures and convoluted dynamics".[22] The Morning Call considered it to be among the best albums of 1984.[23] In 2003, The Courier-Mail listed it as one of "10 Classic Power Pop Albums That Most People Have Never Heard".[24] In 2004, Goldmine said that "the rhythmic switchbacks, fretboard flourishes and baroque mood of 'Lowdown' suggest a complex homage to Britain's Roy Wood and the Move."[25]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Easy Does" 
2."Waters Part" 
3."Lowdown" 
4."Gravel Truck" 
5."Crows on a Phone Line" 
6."Ring True" 
7."Blue Line" 
8."Flags for Everything" 
9."Prey" 
10."Co-Star" 
11."Ornamental" 
12."Counting Down" 

References

  1. ^ Graff, Gary (2025). 501 Essential Albums of the '80s: The Music Fan's Definitive Guide. Motorbooks. p. 202.
  2. ^ Carlton, Bob (August 30, 1984). "Odds and Sods". The Birmingham News. p. 4D.
  3. ^ Holt, John (September 15, 1984). "Thanks for our support". Evening Post. Nottingham. p. 12.
  4. ^ Fricke, David. "Producer Mitch Easter hopes mother knows best". The Muskegon Chronicle. Rolling Stone. p. 6A.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2001). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums, 1955-2001. Record Research. p. 493.
  6. ^ Takiff, Jonathan (February 1, 1985). "Southern Surprises". Features. Philadelphia Daily News. p. 61.
  7. ^ Healey, Jon (October 20, 1984). "With New Records Out, City Bands Near Stardom". Entertainment Week. Winston-Salem Journal. p. 4.
  8. ^ a b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 420.
  9. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (2nd ed.). Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 668.
  10. ^ a b McCormick, Moira (October 6, 1984). "Producer Easter Gets Active as Performer". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 38. p. 35.
  11. ^ Taylor, Gary (September 30, 1984). "Disc Watcher". Magazine. SouthtownStar. p. 11.
  12. ^ Huffman, Eddie (November 7, 1984). "Let's Active plays Brewery tonight". The Daily Tar Heel. p. 4.
  13. ^ All Music Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). Backbeat Books. 2002. p. 650.
  14. ^ a b "Let's Active". Robert Christgau. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  15. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. p. 189.
  16. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2003). The Great Indie Discography (2nd ed.). Canongate. p. 400.
  17. ^ Catlin, Roger (October 7, 1984). "Reviews". Happenings. Omaha World-Herald. p. 4.
  18. ^ a b Tucker, Ken (September 30, 1984). "Let's Active Cypress". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. D11.
  19. ^ Palmer, Robert (October 3, 1984). "The Pop Life: Guitar Bands, an Old Formula Remains Vibrant". The New York Times. p. C21.
  20. ^ Lacey, Liam (January 3, 1985). "Cypress Let's Active". The Globe and Mail. p. E3.
  21. ^ London, Michael (November 4, 1984). "The Record Rack". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 76.
  22. ^ Racine, Marty (February 22, 1985). "New South music revolution comes to town". Houston Chronicle. p. 6.1.
  23. ^ Righi, Len (December 30, 1984). "Springsteen, Prince Stemmed British Wave". The Morning Call. p. F1.
  24. ^ Mengel, Noel (January 3, 2003). "Power pop...". Today. The Courier-Mail. p. 29.
  25. ^ Mills, Fred (January 23, 1984). "Reissues: Let's Active". Goldmine. Vol. 30, no. 2. pp. 62, 64.
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