Afoot

Afoot is the debut six-song EP by the American indie rock band Let's Active, first released in 1983 by I.R.S. Records.

Afoot
Afoot by Let's Active, cover art by Faye Hunter
EP by
Let's Active
Released1983
RecordedJune 1982 – March 1983
GenreIndie rock, jangle pop, power pop
Length22:42
LabelI.R.S. Records
ProducerMitch Easter
Let's Active chronology
Afoot
(1983)		 Cypress
(1984)

Recording

The music on Afoot was recorded from June 1982 through March 1983.[1] Recording was done at bandleader Mitch Easter's home recording studio, Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[2] The songs were presented as a demo to I.R.S., who quickly signed the band. The six songs were packaged as a mini album debut for the band and released in 12" vinyl EP format in late 1983.[1]

Track listing

All six songs were composed by Mitch Easter:[1]

  1. "Every Word Means No" – 2:57
  2. "Make Up with Me" – 3:40
  3. "Edge of the World" – 4:00
  4. "Room with a View" – 3:48
  5. "In Between" – 3:55
  6. "Leader of Men" – 4:22

Personnel

Let's Active:

  • Mitch Easter – Guitar, vocals
  • Faye Hunter – Bass, vocals
  • Sara Romweber – Drums

Production

Easter produced all six tracks at Drive-In Studio.[2] Scott Litt provided assistance with mixing.[1]

Bassist Faye Hunter painted the cover art, musician/friend Richard Barone contributed additional photography, and the album design was credited to Carl Grasso.[1]

Reception

Although it sold only modestly, the EP was a prominent critical success.[3][4] Trouser Press described the record as giving "new meaning to such overused pop adjectives as crisp, bright and ringing".[5] In a particularly effusive retrospective review, AllMusic said "the entire EP is simply flawless" and called all six songs "brilliantly catchy".[6]

Afoot was a major hit on college radio stations in late 1983–early 84.[2] The opening track, "Every Word Means No", was particularly popular, and came to be regarded as a signature song for the group.[7] In the late 1990s it was covered by Smash Mouth and featured on the Friends Again soundtrack (1999).[8] It lent its name (partially) to the multi-band compilation Every Word: A Tribute to Let's Active (2003),[8] and continues to endure as "a mainstay of '80s pop retrospectives".[9]

Afoot was followed by the full-length album Cypress in 1984, and the two were combined in a single CD release in June 1989.[6] This CD included two extra tracks, "Two Yous" and "Grey Scale," which had been available previously only on the UK vinyl release of Cypress.[6]

References
  1. Afoot (1983) at AllMusic. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  2. McCormick, Moira (Oct 6, 1984). "Producer Easter Gets Active As Performer". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 38. Billboard Publications. p. 36. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  3. Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2001). All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music. San Francisco, CA: Backbeat. pp. 232–233. ISBN 9780879306274.
  4. Miller, Scott (2010). Music: What Happened?. Alameda, CA: 125 Books. p. 117. ISBN 9780615381961.
  5. Phillip, Elizabeth (1989). Robbins, Ira A. (ed.). The New Trouser Press Record Guide (4th ed.). New York: Collier/Macmillan. p. 383. ISBN 0-02-036361-3.
  6. Cypress/Afoot (1989) at AllMusic. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  7. Borack, John M. (2007). Shake Some Action – The Ultimate Guide To Power Pop. Fort Collins, CO: Not Lame Recording Co. p. 27. ISBN 9780979771408.
  8. Harris, Will (November 19, 2003). "Various Artists: Every Word: A Tribute to Let's Active". PopMatters. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  9. Mills, Fred (October 2003). "Let's Active: Re-Activated". Harp. Retrieved August 27, 2019 – via Rock's Backpages.
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