User:Herbert Records

Herbert Records is based in Kent in the UK. On its roster are The Round, Round II, Intimate Wipe, Alison's Playground, The Universals and Small World.

The Round formed in 1985 in the Medway Towns in Kent. The band's second gig was on 11 September 1985.

Newspaper reviews said this of The Round:

Introducing The Round – a forceful act to see Chatham Standard newspaper, 17 September 1985

"All you Siouxsie and the Banshees fans and nouveau hippies can come out of the closet. A new band has surfaced in Medway especially for you.

"Called The Round, they are Trevor Mason on vocals and guitar, Jeff on bass, Sean Stevens on guitar and Marcus Moir on drums.

"They have been together for five months and played their second gig at Churchill's last week. It was something of a revelation.

"Sean judged it as "pretty rough in places", but some of Medway's Music Men thought otherwise - Godfish, Swinging Time-rs and others declared the band hot stuff.

"Me? I'm not sure - lukewarm stuff, perhaps. The Round bely their lack of experience by performing sometimes complex songs both well and professionally.

"Trevor Mason has a magnificent voice - it is strong and clear and not unlike Pete Murphy, formerly of Bauhaus. He is also, according to Sean, the man behind the music.

"That is similar to Killing Joke meets Siouxsie (early stuff), but with some dreaded hippy touches. I'm sure that anyone who thought Siouxsie's "Join Hands" was her best album will love this - even Trevor's voice is not dissimilar, albeit octaves lower.

"But some of the songs are too complex for their own good. They confuse and befuddle with rhythm changes, theme changes, tune difference that seem unconnected and irrelevant - the sort of things that E.L.P. were guilty of.

"There is a force to the performance, however, that is compelling, and the finale - a cover of Iggy Pop's "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is superb.

"The playing is tight throughout without being boring or complacent. Marcus is especially good on drums, although as actual musicians, all four deserve special mentions.

"I'm not sure if I actually like them or not, although I approve of what they are doing.

Mike Sanders in his Rock column in the Evening Post newspaper said of the same gig:

"Those musicians-cum-promoters the Hyacinth Girls are in danger of cutting their own stalks with their benevolence.

"The Hyacinth Girls were invited to put down roots for four consecutive Wednesday nights at Churchill’s in The Brook, Chatham, and decided to share this well-exposed seedbed in a hothouse with two other bands each time.

"On Wednesday they shot up firm and healthy and then were overshadowed by a genuinely fine band and an outrageously enthusiastic one growing up beside them,

"The former were The Round. Their Killing Joke influences are obvious, and if they will prove the death of them, then at least the funeral should be quite something.

Fungus-faced Trevor Mason may have thought he was trendiness epitomized until he read this week that Prefab Sprout’s style guru, Paddy McAloon, has now shaved off his beard.

"But this man is more than just a few careless whiskers. His deadpan voice gilds a sumptuously morbid sound oozing from Sean Stevens’ heavily-fuzzed guitar.

"Jeff Russell’s bass catches the residue of noise and holds it in one piece, while Marcus Moir pummels it into shape.

"Heaven knows what the songs are about, - this is luscious unintelligibility for people who think they’re deep thinkers, and these are mantric megastars in the making. Flower power rules again, only orchids and chrysanthemums this time.

The Chatham Standard newspaper on 25 February 1985 said of the band's gig at The Crown pub in Rochester on Saturday 8 February 1986

"I reviewed The Round once before and came away with conflicting conclusions. Well, seeing them a second time has made me no more decisive. I’m afraid.

"Basically, I like the idea of The Round and some of the band’s achievements, but most of the music leaves me cold.

"They remind me of early Banshees (still) and early Scritti Politti (pre- “Songs to Remember” numbers like “Skank Block Bologna” and “Four A-Sides”). They have a fiercely independent sound, an uncompromising approach and an accomplished performance.

"The songs are intricately structured, original (apart from those apparent influences) and impressive.

"But what are you left with at the end of it all? Personally, nothing. I walked out of the Crown with nothing more than I walked in with. There’s no charisma in the performance – I would not agree they are menacing, as someone else has put it – and there are indeed no songs I can remember.

"So what’s the point of it all?

"The Round are not about showbiz. Don’t go expecting a good time but do go with an open mind. I like some Wham!, more Abba, even more Cabaret Voltaire and lots of independent stuff. But even with an open mind, there was not a lot of The Round that got in and stayed there.