As befits a punk band with background careers in teaching and ice cream sales, the Stranglers were the definitive oddballs of this musical genre. By the time of 1979's 'The Raven' they have moved on from their seedy punk side to keyboard-driven (courtesy of Dave Greenfield) art-rock. From the lurching bass Jean Jacques Burnel on 'Dead Loss Angeles', to the rich melodic verve of the title track, to the plinky-plonky keyboard stabs on 'Ice' the first half is wonderfully odd. Things even improve in the second half particularly on the three track run of the anti-heroin lament 'Don't Bring Harry', the gloriously skewed pop of 'Duchess' and those cheap but still hauntingly effective alien-like voices on 'Meninblack'. One of the defining albums of its time, The Stranglers have only achieved this kind of form sporadically since.