Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party [Red]

Oingo Boingo threw their biggest party with Dead Man's Party, and this colored vinyl reissue of the 1985 album still sounds like the best Halloween bash in Los Angeles.

Led by Danny Elfman, who was already moving into film scoring around this time, the band had spent years as cult heroes on the West Coast new wave scene. This record broke them wider, thanks to its knack for pairing gleefully morbid lyrics with irresistible grooves. The title track even put the band on the big screen, performing it in the comedy Back to School.

Just Another Day opens with jittery intensity and an anxious hook, setting the tone for a record that dances on the edge of dread. Dead Man's Party is a skeletal conga line of horns and percussion, No One Lives Forever turns mortality into a celebration, and Weird Science, written for the John Hughes film, remains one of the most gloriously bonkers hits of the decade.

Horns blare, rhythms skitter and Elfman's yelping vocals swing between manic and menacing, all with a theatrical flair that hints at the composer he was becoming.

Equal parts spooky and danceable, this reissue is perfect for collectors of new wave oddities and anyone who believes every night is a costume party.