"I was really into musical theatre. I was the dorky kid who listened to Evita on my walkman as I walked down the street smoking, thinking I was so cool. A couple of my favourite records from that era really speak to that. This is a super theatrical record. The songs are stories and portraits of characters. The music doesn't suggest it, but you can totally see that shit onstage. I just loved it. I loved the immediacy of Marc Almond's vocals. Again, just a totally believable singer, not phoning it in."

"To me, there is a holy trinity of hardcore bands, and the first among these is, obviously, Black Flag. They pretty much invented the genre, and as much as it's become boringly de rigeur to be "into" Flag and have a tattoo and a t-shirt (guilty on both counts), and as much as Greg Ginn seems intent on fucking their legacy to death, this record is still pretty untouchable, not just as a groundbreaking musical statement, but also because of the raw fucking attitude in every cut."

"Does this record qualify as hardcore? Who actually gives a fuck? This was unquestionably my favorite album at the time and the first proper show I ever played was opening for BSF on this tour in London. I guess it's emocore. Whatever. Listening back now, it's a little cringey in places, but music is never as pure and affecting as it is when you're 16 and falling in love for the first time, and seeing them play these songs at the Red Eye remains one of my favorite musical memories."

"I grew up with this album, and I remember being really sensitive to the different musical styles. It's quite a New York album, as well—all the different styles melting into one city. This is a really witty album. There's a true masterpiece in it, "Real Men," which was queer before it was a huge subject of conversation, quite gender-bending—questioning this idea of being a man and what that means. Musically, it's really rich, and very frilly as well: lots of long songs with improvisation. It's an interesting and empowering album."