Based on the extraordinary multi-octave voice of Billy McKenzie, the Associates charted a course from abrasive art-rock to a lush synth-pop that struck a chord with the early-1980s New Romantic audience. Though they made some of the most effortlessly catchy music of the era, particularly on 1982's SULK, the tension between McKenzie and the multi-instrumentalist Alan Rankine led to Rankine's departure and the band's eventual demise. Although other musicians appeared on subsequent albums, the Associates were essentially a vehicle for McKenzie until he officially went solo in the early '90s.