The Best of Bow Wow Wow

Editors’ Notes Bow Wow Wow were one of the most idiosyncratic acts of the new wave/postpunk era, but they still managed to be commercially successful. They only made a few records, yet the British group made a major mark, and this anthology is the ultimate roundup of their output. Their sound blended '60s pop, African drumming, surf guitar, and postpunk. The band featured the original (pre-fame) members of Adam & The Ants (minus Adam) and was fronted by Burmese-British teen Annabella Lwin, who had no prior singing experience and was just 13 when the group started. It didn't hurt that notorious Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren was their overseer, but Bow Wow Wow's sound was utterly original. Whether she was engaging in biting social commentary on "W.O.R.K.," getting precociously sexy on "Aphrodisiac," or redefining The Strangeloves' Bo Diddley-esque '60s hit "I Want Candy" for a new generation, Lwin had an effervescent, infectious vocal presence, propelled by Matthew Ashman's Afro-surf guitar lines, Leigh Gorman's pumping, funky basslines, and Dave Barbarossa's polyrhythmic, tribal drumming.