It’s no big secret that before Split Enz became Tim and Neil Finn’s personal MOR hit machine, they were a seriously odd proposition. An alien pigpile of post-punk tropes, they were manic, but in a completely different way from XTC’s early spikiness; arty, but not even remotely in the same ballpark as PiL’s intimidating archness; zany, but never easy kitsch like the B-52s; melodic, but never in a simplistic way. They were unique, and in the middle of that extravagant mess stood one Philip Judd. This is him singing lead on “Sweet Dreams.”
 

 
Judd left that band for a spell in 1977, and again, for good, in 1978. After a time spent kicking around New Zealand producing and playing with various bands, including Aukland punk pioneers Suburban Reptiles and a project with lo-fi kiwi psych champ Chris Knox, Judd formed The Swingers with two fellow Suburban Reptiles refugees, drummer Buster Stiggs (replaced later by Ian Gilroy) and future Midnight Oil bassist Bones Hillman. Forsaking the artiness Judd had brought to bear on Enz, The Swingers favored a tight, hooky new-wave popcraft, upbeat yet seriously anxiety-ridden, not at all out of place in its time but amazingly durable in retrospect.

Their wonderful 1982 US debut, though it differs significantly from its 1981 Australian counterpart, opens with three amazing songs in a row, effectively crafting the kind of brilliant statement of purpose that can snare a receptive listener for life, making it all the more unfortunate that Counting The Beat got remaindered and deleted so swiftly after its release. It opens with their debut single, the catchy-as-chlamydia title track.
 

 
More from Phil Judd and The Swingers after the jump…