Strawberry Switchblade formed in 1981 and released their one and only self-titled album in 1985, an ostensibly synth pop album with curiously subtle dream and twee pop flair. This is particularly significant because both of the latter scenes were only just emerging at the time the album dropped.

At what might first may seem a commercially-minded ’80s group, Rose McDowall and Jill Bryson were actually followers of Scotland’s underground alternative music scene. And of course, Scotland itself was nearly the headquarters of indie pop in the ’80s. Though they attempted to disguise their alternative influences well enough, the group’s aesthetic wasn’t fit for popular tastes at the time, and only “Since Yesterday” became a hit in the UK due to a rigorous marketing push.

The vocalists’ soft melodies and reverb-soaked production conceal any avant-garde songcraft. Pay attention to the little details in these deceptively small pop songs and realize how lushly composed of many tiny sounds they really are. Strawberry Switchblade went so incognito that the album is still passed by among ’80s indie pop reevaluations. In truth, it’s an album ahead of its time both in sound and songcraft—it’s one of the few indie pop albums of its decade to hold up as a whole rather than by its singles, which is something to be treasured. Hopefully, one day, Strawberry Switchblade will get the credit they actually deserve. It’s time to remove the mantle of “just another oddly-dressed synth pop group.”

In fact, the ganguro girls ended up becoming a huge success in Japan. I wonder why…