Back in the Days… Anne Clark – Changing Places (1983)

Another little Journey through Time

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Weltschmerz Poetry

No matter if it is New Wave, Dark Wave, Cold Wave or related genres such as Post Punk, Gothic Rock, Industrial or even Techno, the name Anne Clark is inevitable when looking for the roots. Born in 1960 and raised by the early Punk scenein the 1970s in London, Anne Clark found her artistic and professional sphere between theatre, writing and producing dark sounds. After her debut album form 1982 The Sitting Room immediately became a success, Anne Clark felt encouraged to continue and produced a sophomore longplayer only a year later. Changing Places was the second of twelve studio albums so far, and although being late to the party, Anne Clark had a sustainable impact on the Post Punk and Wave scene from then on.

Tales from Dark Streets

Changing Places consists of an A-Side featuring David Harrow and a B-Side featuring Vini Reilly. Anne Clark is telling of a broken world on her eleven songs. It is the world she grew up in that she sets to score in her dark poems which are supported by synthesizer sounds that scream dystopia and doom. But Changing Places is not a hopeless soundscape but an attempt to tear apart the power structures of the old world. And thus, Anne Clark addresses oppression, misogyny, homophobia. Music-wise, she also breaks with old conventions by taking elements from Brit Pop, Folk or Rock, and re-establishing them in an avantgardist way.

Pioneering Work

The importance for later development in music history of Changing Places and the other early works of Anne Clark is huge. And apart from that, Changing Places is an album that deserves plenty of attention as a work for eternity. With its dynamic A-Side, its cinematic B-Side, the great soundscapes, the amazing poems, and its deep dark atmosphere, Changing Places is flawless.