THE SEXUAL OBJECTS - Orangutang

Skids, Simple Minds, Josef K, Associates, Scars, Orange Juice, Pastels, Revillos, Cocteau Twins, Jesus And Mary Chain: this list alone would be enough to highlight the role played by Scottish musicians in the 1980s post-punk revolution. But like any self-respecting scene, the Scottish one is also full of outsiders who marked an era without ever achieving recognition or success.

David Henderson is one of the most elusive and enigmatic figures of that fertile creative period, responsible for bands like Fire Engine, Win, The Nectarine No. 9, as well as the mysterious ensemble The Sexual Objects, which also involves Douglas MacIntire, a name well known to post-punk scene devotees for his involvement in bands such as Jazzaters, Cowboy Mouth, Sugartown and Love And Money.

Formed after the breakup of Nectarine No. 9 and conceived by David Henderson as an open-ended group whose main vehicle would be the seven-inch single rather than the long player, The Sexual Objects released a single album in 2016 for the German market only, "Marshmallow", but its poor distribution and tiny pressing — 300, or perhaps 500, and certainly not one copy as rumoured at the time — condemned it to the status of a collector's item unknown to the wider public.

"Orangutang" is an excellent compilation that offers the chance to appreciate the creative flair of Henderson and co. Unfortunately, it also marks the end of Douglas McIntire's Creeping Bent label, shut down at the end of 2025 after a run of albums handled by Last Night From Glasgow's distribution.

The band's first four singles open the list: the irreverent glam rock of "Full Penetration", the jangle-pop/Velvet Underground-style guitar intoxication of "Merrie England", the glorious "Queen City Of The 4th Dimension" with its T-Rex-like strut, and the irresistible refrain of "Here Come The Rubber Cops", a track produced by Boards Of Canada complete with a nod to David Bowie's "The Man Who Sold The World" — all leaving no doubt as to the quality of the songwriting.

For The Sexual Objects, too, the rule holds that the best possible pop is doomed to failure, as with Xtc and Win themselves.

The creative fury of "Ron Asheton", the brilliant psychedelic touch of "Cincinnati Blooms", and two other fine tracks from the legendary 2016 album ("Marshmallow" and "Kevin Ayres") all carry that same verve that, for a brief moment, Television and Modern Lovers injected into rock'n'roll.

Rounding out the album is "Feels With Me", a surprising pop song that until now had been confined to digital-only release, and another track bearing the Boards Of Canada production stamp, "The Protection Of Happiness Generator", a ballad steeped in elegant psychedelic textures.

A precious document, "Orangutang" is an album that could easily aspire to landmark status: ten pop miniature masterpieces steeped in post-punk, slotting perfectly into that Scottish scene of which Josef K are one of the finest expressions. Unmissable.

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28/03/2026