The Sound
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Artist:
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Album:Jeopardy/Live Instinct EP
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I just discovered that there is not a single MOG post about the Sound. A British post-punk band led by the hugely talented Adrian Borland, the Sound existed from 1978 to 1987 and (like their labelmates Chameleons) amply deserved, but never received, the kind of recognition that their other labelmates Echo & The Bunnymen did.
Many contemporary post-punk bands, though typically inferior to the Sound in their songwriting ability, bear the hallmark characteristics of their music: atmospheres, tension, brooding (and unusually smart) lyrics, limber bass lines, piercing guitars, instrumental interplays with unexpected twists. It's all there.
The classic Sound releases are their first two albums Jeopardy (1980) and From The Lions Mouth (1981), plus the Shock Of Daylight EP (1984). The rest of their original catalog included three other studio albums, a live album, and a slew of 12" singles.
Shortly after Borland's suicide in 1999, the British reissue label Renascent (also the home to the recent wonderful Comsat Angels reissues) began releasing remastered and expanded editions of the Sound albums, plus a series of live albums mainly from concerts in the Netherlands, where the band had a devoted following. Warmly recommended.
The best YouTube video I found, a performance of "Sense Of Purpose" on The Old Grey Whistle Test ca. 1981, refuses to embed properly, but you can watch it here. Here's low-lit live footage of the uptempo "Heartland":This is a Filling in the gaps post.
Many contemporary post-punk bands, though typically inferior to the Sound in their songwriting ability, bear the hallmark characteristics of their music: atmospheres, tension, brooding (and unusually smart) lyrics, limber bass lines, piercing guitars, instrumental interplays with unexpected twists. It's all there.
The classic Sound releases are their first two albums Jeopardy (1980) and From The Lions Mouth (1981), plus the Shock Of Daylight EP (1984). The rest of their original catalog included three other studio albums, a live album, and a slew of 12" singles.
Shortly after Borland's suicide in 1999, the British reissue label Renascent (also the home to the recent wonderful Comsat Angels reissues) began releasing remastered and expanded editions of the Sound albums, plus a series of live albums mainly from concerts in the Netherlands, where the band had a devoted following. Warmly recommended.
The best YouTube video I found, a performance of "Sense Of Purpose" on The Old Grey Whistle Test ca. 1981, refuses to embed properly, but you can watch it here. Here's low-lit live footage of the uptempo "Heartland":This is a Filling in the gaps post.
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