I am sure you have heard the song One Thing Leads to Another by The Fixx. Who hasn’t? And maybe you’ve heard the other single called Saved By Zero, but probably not. On the surface, The Fixx seems a lot like a one hit wonder band that doesn’t require anything more than an occasional spin of the well known track(s). You’d be mistaken to think that, because this album is damn good.

From start to finish, you’ve got exceptional songwriting that embodies early 80s pop rock new wave beautifully. From the punchy 80s drums to the twanging jangly guitars and the subtle synths, The Fixx mastered their sound and was likely overshadowed by bigger bands of the time like Talking Heads, The Cure, The Cars, Tears for Fears, or INXS. Yes, you could say that the explosion of 80s new wave kind of edged out some of the smaller artists of the time.

Several songs on Reach the Beach could easily have been huge singles (i.e. The Sign of Fire and the title track) with infectious hooks and memorable melodies that would have been perfect for an 80s movie montage.

Not only do I love to revisit this album periodically, especially with the $1.99 used vinyl I bought awhile back, but also I like to spread the word about how great it is. In my mind, it is a bit of a tragedy that the album doesn’t get more recognition beyond the iconic lead single. There is a solid album here that rises way above all the fluff of the time period.