The Stranglers “Skin Deep” 1984. 12″ extended version single b/w “Here and There” and “Vladimir and the Beast (Part III).” “Skin Deep” was the first single from The Stranglers’ eighth album Aural Sculpture and it hit #15 on the UK charts. The track is new wave leaning power pop, lots of shimmery effects, dreamy keyboards, melodic woo-woo’s and, at times, Beach Boy level harmonies, quite a departure from their early work i.e. the snarling punk attitude of “(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)” and “Ugly.” Side B’s “Here and There” continues the transformation with world beat marimba flavors, beep-boop synths and vocals that parallel the blue-eyed soul craze of early 80′s Britain (Spandau Ballet, Paul Young, etc). “Vladimir and the Beast (Part III)” has, not surprisingly, a Russian theme and flavor, with an Eastern European polka-beat and lyrics that chronicle a soldier’s experience during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, including addiction to hash, attacks by Afghan rebels and the development of a relationship with a camel named Dimitri. A seriously weird song.