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The Pop Group prep deluxe 'Y' reissue (watch new "Kiss the Book" video)

The Pop Group‘s debut album, Y, is one of the definitive post-punk artifacts, that simmers wiry guitars, danceable rhythms, dubby production (courtesy producer Dennis Bovell), and a dark, paranoid vibe together into one highly influential record. For its 40th anniversary, Mute Records is reissuing Y in a deluxe edition that will be out digitally on November 1, with vinyl and triple-CD editions out November 22. The vinyl has been half-speed mastered at Abbey Road and comes with a bonus 12″ of The Pop Group’s debut single, “She is Beyond Good and Evil.” There’s also a box set version that includes two more albums — Alien Blood (which features rare and unreleased tracks) and Y Live – as well as a new booklet with liner notes and rare photos, plus art prints. That will also be available as a three-CD set.

The opening cut of Alien Blood is “Kiss the Book,” a tense, taught track that had previously only been heard via a 1978 Peel Session. This studio version was excavated from the original 2” tapes and The Pop Group have made a video for it as well, made by artist and filmmaker Daniel Kramer. “Daniel offers a critical refusal of the new pragmatism, and a commitment both to the utopian force of the radical attempt and against today’s vicarious aesthetic,” says The Pop Group’s Mark Stewart of the video. “He exhibits indispensable boldness in this age of political surrender and intellectual timidity.” The video features vintage footage, photos and art from The Pop Group’s original era and it makes its premiere in this post. Watch below.

You can preorder the Y now.

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Y Tracklisting
1. Thief of Fire (Remastered)
2. Snowgirl (Remastered)
3. Blood Money (Remastered)
4. Savage Sea (Remastered)
5. We Are Time (Remastered)
6. Words Disobey Me (Remastered)
7. Don’t Call Me Pain (Remastered)
8. Boys From Brazil (Remastered)
9. Don’t Sell Your Dreams (Remastered)

Alien Blood Tracklisting
1. Kiss The Book
2. Blood Money (Slow Thief)
3. Don’t Call Me Pain (First Mix)
4. Words Disobey Me (Dennis the Menace Mix)
5. We Are Time (Ricochet)
6. Thief Of Fire (Bass Addict)
7. Savage Sea (Sparse)
8. Boys From Brazil (Ridge Reels)
9. Snowgirl (Take 3)
10. Don’t Sell Your Dreams (“A” Mix)

Y Live Tracklisting
1. Thief of Fire (Live)
2. Snowgirl (Live)
3. Blood Money (Live)
4. Savage Sea (Live)
5. We Are Time (Live)
6. Words Disobey Me (Live)
7. Don’t Call Me Pain (Live)
8. Boys From Brazil (Live)
9. Don’t Sell Your Dreams (Live)

“She Is Beyond Good & Evil” 12” Tracklisting
1. She Is Beyond Good & Evil
2. 3.38

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