This Kind of Punishment formed from the remains of Nocturnal Projections, a post-punk band that was heavily rooted in the gothic sounds of Joy Division. Led by brothers Peter and Graeme Jefferies, whose chilling voices were the perfect icing on the cake, Nocturnal Projections released a few cassettes before breaking up in 1983. Soon after, the Jefferies brothers recorded the first This Kind of Punishment album at home on 4-track, abandoning punk rock for a stripped-down, quiet approach. The self-titled first album shows the formation of the This Kind of Punishment sound--retaining the moodiness of Nocturnal Projections, but with mostly keyboards, piano, and guitar. The driving "After the Fact" opens the album, building to a climax with pounding drums and ringing electric guitar. It's one of the most accessible This Kind of Punishment songs, with the refrain "Doesn't it always?" sung over descending piano figures and creating a dark, beautiful wall of sound. The somewhat experimental "Don't Take Those" contains some twisted vocals that may be a bit of an acquired taste, but the song is a good illustration of the dark, brooding intimacy of This Kind of Punishment. "If An Axe is an Arm" is a beautiful acoustic song (with both brothers singing together) that shows This Kind of Punishment at their most perfect. Third member Chris Matthews takes vocals on the morose "Just Another Funeral" and "Some More Than Others" is a jarring critique of imperialism. "Two Minutes Drowning" sounds like it could have influenced the slowcore movement, except that virtually no one ever heard this album. Flying Nun's original 1983 pressing of 1000 copies quickly sold out and except for a brief cassette reissue on Xpressway, this record was unavailable until Roof Bolt's 1998 CD reissue.
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