Indifference (album)

Indifference
Studio album by the Proletariat
Released	1985
Studio	Radiobeat
Genre	Post-punk[1] hardcore punk[2] noise rock[2] art punk[2]
Length	43:27
Language	English
Label	Homestead
Producer	Lou Giordano Frank Michaels
The Proletariat chronology
"Marketplace" (1985) Indifference (1985) Voodoo Economics and Other American Tragedies (1998)
Singles from Indifference
"Marketplace" Released: 1985

Indifference is the second studio album by the American punk rock band the Proletariat.

The record was named after its opening song, which was inspired by the photography of David Henry of the homeless in Boston.^[3][4] One of Henry's photos serves as its front cover.^[5]

In late 1984, before Indifference was completed, lead vocalist Richard Brown and drummer Tom McKnight left the band.^[3] They were replaced by Laurel Ann Bowman,^[6][7] and Steve Welch,^[3][4] who both contributed on the new album's songs "Homeland" and "The Guns Are Winning".^[7][8]

Roger Miller of Mission of Burma makes a guest appearance playing the piano in the track "An Uneasy Peace",^[9][10] which is an alternate version from that contributed to the hardcore punk compilation P.E.A.C.E.,^{[nb 1][10][11]} released a year earlier on R Radical Records.^[12]

Indifference was preceded by its lead single "Marketplace".^{[nb 2][13]}

Production and release

Produced by Lou Giordano and Frank Michaels, Indifference was recorded at Radiobeat Studios in Boston, Massachusetts. It was mixed at White Dog Studio in Newton, Massachusetts. George "Porky" Peckham was in charge of the mastering.^{[nb 3]}

The album was released in 1985 by Homestead Records,^[14] on LP^{[nb 4][15]} and Compact Cassette.^{[nb 5][5]}

Critical reception

Oliver Sheppard, contributor at the online magazine Souciant, was of the view that:

"... [Indifference] is every bit as good as Soma Holiday, yet still sorely overlooked. A mature mix of smart songwriting and deft, accomplished instrumentation, the album hints at the early “positive punk” of UK bands like Sex Gang Children or Furyo. The influence of bands like The Dils, the Mekons, and fellow Bostonite postpunkers Mission of Burma also courses strongly through the LP’s veins ... Like Middle Class’ Homeland LP, it seems an accident of geography (i.e. the band is from Boston, not London) that has resulted in the record languishing in obscurity."^[1]

For his part, Ryan Foley, from The Music Museum of New England, commented:

"[In the Proletariat's second album] The sense of urgency was heightened, the threat of violence more pointed. On songs like “The Guns Are Winning” and “Homeland” the band tackled sociopolitical issues that are still relevant today..."^[4]

The punk zine Suburban Voice wrote:

"... Texture and melody became an increasing part of the picture by the time [the Proletariat] had reached their second album, "Indifference", but it was without sacrificing the purity of rage."^[7]

"Marketplace" 7"

"Marketplace"
Single by the Proletariat
from the album Indifference
B-side	"Death of a Hedon" (3:29)
Released	1985
Format	7" single
Studio	Radiobeat
Genre	Post-punk[1] hardcore punk[2] noise rock[2]
Length	2:38
Label	Homestead
Writer(s)	Richard Brown Peter Bevilacqua Frank Michaels
Producer(s)	Lou Giordano Frank Michaels
The Proletariat chronology
Soma Holiday (1983) "Marketplace" (1985) Indifference (1985)

"Marketplace" is a song by the Proletariat, originally released in 1985 on Homestead Records^{[nb 2][16]} as the lead single for the band's second studio album, Indifference,^{[nb 4][13]} on which it is featured as the closing track.

The B-side, "Death of a Hedon", was not included on the album. However, it would be later re-released on the band's 1998 anthology Voodoo Economics and Other American Tragedies.^{[nb 6][7][17][18]}

The photo on the front cover, portraying a homeless man lying on a stairway while he is ignored by the people passing by, was taken by photographer David Henry.^[13]

Track listing

Music and arrangements by Peter Bevilacqua and Frank Michaels, lyrics^[19] by Richard Brown.

Reissues

Out of print after its original release,^[5] Indifference would later resurface, in its entirety, as part of the band's 2-CD anthology Voodoo Economics and Other American Tragedies,^{[nb 6]} compiled in 1998 by Taang! Records.^[7][17][18]

Track listing

Music and arrangements by Peter Bevilacqua and Frank Michaels, lyrics by Richard Brown, except where noted.

Personnel