with one foot firmly planted in the post-punk sound of the late seventies and the other in the emerging new wave, at the outset, certain general's quirky, kinetic, rhythm and sound owed more to the "dead disco and happening hip-hop," as parleyed by such emerging new york entities as james chance and the contortions than the moody, psychedelia-gone-mad direction that would follow. however, from the start, their unique mix of evocative lyrics and a consistently frenetic live show quickly earned the band widespread acclaim when they began to play shows in 1981. as "boston rock" noted at the time, they were "superbly energetic, the last time the band played here the crowd almost tore the walls down." new york rock critic heavyweight christgau from the "village voice" weighed in that the band produced "rolling, ambitious, somewhat mannered art pop that is totally original." and his colleague, van gosse, maintained that "this band so fervent and young has come to stand for something. that notoriety would eventually extend to europe, where they would release "november's heat" in 1984. considered a seminal album of the 1980s and one of the defining new york rock records, "november's heat" would earn the band many accolades, especially in france. in 1995, "rock & folk" called it "one of the most important albums made between 1965 and 1995."