Ipso Facto – Ipso Facto

Ipso Facto
Ipso Facto
1983 TPRW Records

Randall Butler – Lead Vocals, Guitar
William Dragoo – Guitar, Vocals
Smitty Price – Keyboards
Terry Butler – Piano, Vocals
Glen Holmen – Bass
Andrew Osbrink – Bass, Vocals
William Dragoo – Drums, Percussion, Vocals

David John Etzen – Lead Vocals on “Heartmaker”

Side 1:

1. Michael
2. Who Will You Blame

Side 2:

1. Heartmaker
2. Multiple Choice

Can you say 80s? This album is so 80s that I’m having a hard time saying whether it is new wave, AOR (the real AOR, not this historical revisionism nonsense of re-classifying 80s metal bands), or synth pop. They really blend all of the sounds in most songs. Of course, I love the 80s, so no complaints about that here. I see that this band is most often labeled new wave, and I think that influence does rise a bit above the others. The actual hook on the opening track “Michael” is straight out of the Foreigner playbook. The second track starts off as straight synth-pop before mixing in some obvious 80s alternative rock influences. “Heartmaker” even seems to dip into a bit of arena rock. Cool little ep for a real nostalgia trip.