The week of extremes continues. It feels like this music comes from a different era, a different country. I know a lot of people think the country is in a bad state today. I don't agree, at least in relative terms. Almost everything was so much worse in the Thatcher years. And, yes, you can say that Thatcher inspired confrontational art like this, but you can't justify iniquity on the basis of the reaction it provokes.
Then I stop to wonder: is it times that have changed, or is it me? Someone, somewhere (Nine Inch Nails etc?) is making agitprop art that is every bit as angry and oppositional as Test Department were, but this 42-year-old isn't feeling it any more, and that music doesn't even register on my radar.
In other ways, the music was ahead of its time. Things like the combination of bagpipes and 'found' percussion could have led to a cul-de-sac, but I think you can trace a thread from there to some music being made now (just don't ask me to be specific, because I can't think of examples at the moment).
My copy is the original vinyl release, with the expansive fold-out cover — "award winning" according to this page. It must surely be a collectors' item now, but eil doesn't have any in stock for me to check the price.
 MusicBrainz entry for this album
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