Brix gone solo! Adult Net - The Honey Tangle 1989 (Fontana) Flac & mp3@320

This 60s revivalist pop band from the UK was fronted by Laura Elise (aka ‘Brix’) Smith (b. California, USA), performing a dual role after she relocated to England, when she was also a member of husband Mark E. Smith’s band, the Fall. The Adult Net was inaugurated in 1985 when Brix, who was brought up in Hollywood, took the phrase from a line in ‘Stephen’s Song’, from the Fall’s The Wonderful And Frightening World Of. She had previously worked in Rage and Burden Of Proof. In contrast to the Fall, whom many noted she pushed in a more commercial direction, Adult Net concentrated on vocal harmony and bubblegum pop which harked back to Smith’s Californian roots, and the Beach Boys in particular. Her accomplices at one time included three ex-members of the Smiths; Andy Rourke, Mike Joyce and Craig Gannon, the line-up that saw the band make their live debut.

Hastily arranged in order to impress Geffen Records, the band nevertheless acquired a contract from Fontana Records. ‘Incense And Peppermints’ (Strawberry Alarm Clock) and ‘Edie’, a tribute to the Andy Warhol protégé, attracted plenty of press attention but few record sales. A cover version of the Grass Roots’ ‘Where Were You’ preceded The Honey Tangle, an album of seamless and occasionally sickly pop. The line-up had transformed to include Clem Burke (ex-Blondie) and James Eller (ex-The The), while Gannon was retained from the earlier formation. A previous album, recorded in 1987 for Beggars Banquet Records and titled Spin This Web, remained unreleased. As Honey Tangle, named after a racehorse, was released, the personal and professional split between Brix and Mark E. Smith became public. Subsequently a version of Donovan’s ‘Hurdy Gurdy Man’, featuring new boyfriend Nigel Kennedy on violin, was shelved when Fontana dropped the band in October 1990.

Smith laid low for a while before tentatively rehearsing with Hole as replacement bass player. In 1995 she returned to the Fall to guest on that year’s Cerebral Caustic, having temporarily made up with one-time husband Mark E. Smith.

Something must Brix have fascinated to the name ''Smith''. But the ex members of the Smiths had gone and Mark, too. But this very fine effort still sounds great.

Have fun
              SB1     Flac p1  & Flac p2    -  mp3@320