BURN*NG CAR
John Fxx third solo single emerged in June 1980 from the smoking wreckage of the Metamat*c album which had by now smashed its unexpected way into the forefront of British popular music. Still driven by sweeping synths and post-apocalyptic imagery, Burn*ng Car crashes in on a metallic staccato, and the thumping bassline challenges the men in the long grey coats and grey hats to at least think about dancing. Riding the tidal wave of confidence following the success of the long player, Fxx is now purposeful and intense, determined to prove he can deliver new material without compromise.
While a Burn*ng Car is a very threatening, evocative image, there is much tenderness and passion in the song’s composition. John Fxx allows enough space between the thundering keyboards for the gentlest touch of strings to define a piece of music that is destined to become iconic. Though the tide is turning and electronic music is stirring the public consciousness, the UK charts are still dominated by vacuous, unchallenging ‘pop’. John Fxx is determined that we should change channels, flick from Top of the Pops to the news, where every other broadcast presents the televisual image of a blazing automobile. TV screens across the nation intersperse scenes of social chaos and violent street riots with advertisements for soap and new cars. As an indictment of contemporary society, Burn*ng Car is a terrifying statement, but its also a harbinger of great hope. Fxx remains as emotionally detached from the sirens he's describing as ever, but now he's more comfortable in his distraction, and with a dismissive shrug of the shoulders he is content to walk away with a sense that there is, at last, something better to do.