Essential Collection

The Motels were the least plastic of the Los Angeles New Wave scene. While the Missing Persons sounded like a synthesizer run amok, and Oingo Boingo were too busy trying to fuse ska and New Wave into some kind of punk spiked hybrid, The Motels were bent on keeping as many real instruments on their records as possible. Martha Davis was a charismatic frontwoman – often sounding like a female vocalist from an older generation – who wrote consistently dark material. She followed in the tradition of The Doors and X and exposed the dark side of sunny southern California in three minute singles. “Only the Lonely” could be about the trappings of fame, could be about the death throws of a relationship, that ambiguity serves the song well. “Total Control” is an acidic ballad with a slightly cliché chorus (“I’d sell my soul for total control over you”), but Davis delivers it. “Kix” and “Mission of Mercy” find the band thrashing out punkier singles and leaving behind the stylized and brooding sonics they were known for. Often dark, troubling, melancholy and artsy, The Motels were a solid band that had an unfortunately short shelf-life. Don’t be afraid to add The Motels’ Essential Collection to your record collection. These fifteen singles are so L.A. in the best possible sense. DOWNLOAD: “Suddenly Last Summer,” “Mission of Mercy,” “Only the Lonely”