In 1986, the English rock band Alien Sex Fiend did something brilliantly literal: they released an album titled, well, "It" the Album. But beneath that Dadaist simplicity lay a complex strategy that turned the physical media landscape into a playground for their DIY gothic aesthetic.

In this episode of pplpod, we conduct a "musical archaeological dig" into the band’s fourth studio undertaking. We explore how frontman Nick Fiend seized total creative control—from painting the chaotic album art himself to self-producing the record—ensuring that the visual and auditory experiences were perfectly aligned.

What we unpack in this deep dive:

• The 13-Minute Monolith: We dissect "Manic Depression," a track so massive it took up nearly