Hothouse Flowers continued their exploration of Irish folk and gospel on their second album, Home. Their debut album, People, had introduced Hothouse Flowers to the world, largely through the strength of the single "Don't Go." several singles were released from this disc, namely "I Can See Clearly Now," "Give It Up," and "Movies." The shadow of Van Morrison looms large over Home, from the slow, piano-driven ballads "Sweet Marie" and "Shut Up and Listen" to gospel choir-backed rockers like "Giving It All Away" and their cover of "I Can See Clearly Now." Hothouse Flowers aren't simply a pale imitation of their influences, though, and their songwriting and musicianship are excellent throughout. From the clever anthem "Movies" to the Eastern-tinged "Water," Hothouse Flowers have created a masterful collection of pop songs. Home is an underrated gem
Ex-Associate Billy Mackenzie was working on the tracks which comprise Beyond the Sun when he committed suicide, leaving this planned comeback bid unfinished; the Cocteau Twins' Simon Raymonde, among others, completed the demos for release, and the results are frequently impressive, if bittersweet. Mackenzie is in fine voice on each of these tracks, which veer between his trademark synth-pop sound and a more contemporary Britpop flavor; while clearly in its rough stages at the time of Mackenzie's death, Beyond the Sun is a potent reminder of his eccentric gifts -- he will be missed.
Singer/songwriter David Sylvian's career spans a long and enigmatic scene of experimental rock and emotional restylings. Not one to fully absorb the conventional ways of a certain circuit, Sylvian is a realist musician. He is ambitious in molding his own catharses within layers of woodwinds, horns, and homegrown synth beats, and 1999's Dead Bees on a Cake was only a small cue to Sylvian's forthcoming work. The new millennium brought the release of the double-disc Everything and Nothing, a reflection of Sylvian's previously unreleased older material. Sonically gorgeous with vocals comparable to Bryan Ferry, Everything and Nothing is a vastly expressive record of 29 tracks lost in the vaults of remixes, time, and creative changes; it is certainly a moving package of lush elevations and underrated wordplay. The two-disc set hums with eclectic instrumental constructions and tinges of Middle Eastern material, especially on tracks such as "Ride." "Pop Song" is more attractive with its abstract guitar riffs and whimsical synth loops, and "Some Kind of Fool," a long-lost Japan song intended to be on 1980's Gentleman Take Polaroids, is electronically driven. It's naturally abrasive in lyrical poetry, and Sylvian's atmospheric nature to float over the initial song composition is classic. "Jean the Birdman" echoes the sultriness of Peter Murphy, but Sylvian is shiftless at the same time with his funkadelic mood. The textural differences among the cuts make Everything and Nothing particularly inviting, reflecting the wholehearted desire that continues to make David Sylvian a fresh contributor. He is surprising, professional, and unattached to what's common. Everything and Nothing is undoubtedly a firm recognition of Sylvian's musical wizardry.
By the release of their second album, Replicas, Gary Numan was the undisputed focal point and leader of icy electro-punkers Tubeway Army. And the move proved to be massively successful back home in the U.K., where both the album and the single "Are 'Friends' Electric?" topped the charts. The band had made a conscious effort to streamline the sound heard on its 1978 self-titled debut -- the distorted guitar riffs were played on Moog synthesizers instead, and Numan had perfected his faux-space-age persona. And the paranoia that is very evident in the lyrics and vocals on Numan's next release, The Pleasure Principle, can be detected on Replicas. Another near-perfect album by the band, highlights are many -- "Me! I Disconnect from You," "The Machman," "You Are in My Vision," and one of the most underrated new wave/synth-driven compositions of the whole era, the chilling ballad "Down in the Park." And out of all the Gary Numan/Beggars Banquet reissues, Replicas contains the strongest bonus tracks, such as never heard outtakes from the recording sessions, including "The Crazies," "Only a Downstat," and the B-side to the original "Are 'Friends' Electric?" single, "We Are So Fragile."
Recorded after singer/songwriter Mark Linkous' accidental, near-fatal drug reaction and subsequent 12-week stay in London's St. Mary's Hospital, Good Morning Spider dwells in the liminal spaces between dreaming and waking, sickness and health, and living and dying. The album takes these grey areas and makes a world out of them, blending classic songwriting with an experimental sound that borrows from hi-fi and lo-fi. A natural progression from Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot, Good Morning Spider adds bubbling synths, ambient electronics, horns, and drum loops to the mix, giving songs like "Painbirds" an unclassifiable -- but distinctively Sparklehorse -- blend of darkness and childlike innocence. From driving songs like "Pig" and "Cruel Sun," to frail, winding ballads such as "Saint Mary" and "Come On In," to the experimental pop of "Ghost of His Smile" and "Sunshine," the album encompasses a rainbow of sounds and emotions but never loses focus.
Sleep No More, the second Comsat Angels album, is a confident follow-up that contains a tighter and more cutting version of Waiting for a Miracle's alluring insularity. Going by "Eye Dance," the torrid opener, one might expect a more aggressive affair, but that's not necessarily the case. The album turns out to be neither as pop nor as fast, with a majority of the material playing out at a dirge-like pace. There were no singles. Like Magazine's Secondhand Daylight, or the Sound's All Fall Down, Sleep No More can be a trudge and quite bleak, perhaps even impenetrable at times. However, as with Waiting for a Miracle, the dynamics of the album become increasingly perceptible with each play, and the slowest, austerest passages begin to seem as intense as the few that slam and punch. With the exception of "Restless," a mood piece of harmonic flickers, light whispers, and low throb, the album is driven by Mik Glaisher's booming drums, which were recorded in a manner -- near a lift shaft, to be precise, with microphones placed on six surrounding floors -- that makes the album wholly enveloping and, occasionally, imposing. (Imagine Joy Division's "I Remember Nothing" and Talking Heads' "The Overload" on top of one another, doubled in heaviness.) The subject matter: not a big surprise, given the title of the album, with further adventures in malfunctioning-relationship purgatory, along with topical matter like "Dark Parade" (about the volatile hostage situation at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran), a song that hardly repeals the level of turmoil expressed elsewhere. Regardless of the continued strength in the songwriting, it's impossible not to get caught up in the album's sounds. The title track overwhelms with its swirling layers of guitar and keyboards over an unchanging drum pattern. The storming "Goat of the West" wastes no time in whipping itself into a controlled frenzy of churning guitars, punishing drums, and bewildered vocals ("Did you see what happened?/It's so funny that I'm not laughing"). On "At Sea," the rhythm section does the riffing, with Glaisher's thumping drums suctioned to Kevin Bacon's cavernous bass. While it's not as easy to enjoy as Waiting for a Miracle -- for a lot of listeners, it's that kind of album that requires some mental preparation -- Sleep No More is certainly more powerful, and it's also a greater achievement. Here, the Comsat Angels became one of the era's most exceptional bands
Returning to full action after Siouxse and the Banshees revitalized themselves with the Peep Show album and tour, the Creatures once again recorded an album that took full advantage of their surroundings. Instead of tropical Hawaii, it was Spain that they and longtime producer Mike Hedges found themselves in, reflected in both the stark location photography from Anton Corbijn and the mix of Spanish-tinged music and lyrical themes. The lead-off track was also arguably the strongest: "Standing There," with a rhythm and horns assault Foetus or Yello would be proud of and Sioux at her most cutting against wolf-whistling male taunters and their ilk. The rest of the album proved a worthy follow-up to such a memorable start, whether creating Iberian-inspired pieces like the flamenco and trumpet-tinged "Manchild" or the strut of "Strolling Wolf" or following other individual impulses. Sioux's singing is some of her best both in and out of the Banshees, still retaining the shadowed mystery that she makes her own while drawing on an interesting range of styles, from cabaret to Nico-esque chanting. Budgie, meanwhile, continues to demonstrate why he's such a fantastic drummer and percussionist, from tribal stomps to lighter bell, marimba, steel drum, and other combinations, even a few electronic loops for good measure. The busy "Fury Eyes," which became the second single from the album, has the same quick pop feel as "Miss the Girl" with a more immediately fun edge. Blues/jazz influences crop up throughout Boomerang -- the wheezing harmonica on "Willow," the slow crawl of "Killing Time," and more -- and get a great new lease on life as a result. One of the best numbers marries a sassy low R&B base to futuristic ambient sound and very glam lyrics, "Pluto Drive," which on the CD version blends into the vocal/instrumental mood piece "Solar Choir" nicely
Starting with a nuttily bombastic synth intro (courtesy of Squeeze's Jools Holland!) which sounds just like the music punk was supposed to be destroying might seem an unusual move for a band founded by the guy who chronicled the original London explosion. But it's that very contrariness in Mark Perry which made the original Alternative TV such a thrilling prospect, and which makes The Image Has Cracked an unfairly neglected classic from the late-'70s upheaval. Seizing on the promise of punk as being a new means of expression rather than a new set of musical rules to be adhered to, Perry, along with a solid-enough band, whip up a series of incendiary pieces that explore as much as they thrash, caught somewhere between the Fall's divine ramalama and three-chord snarls. "Alternatives" captures the tense spirit of the band's work perfectly, a live recording where over a gentle groove Perry invites audience members to come up and "use the soapbox," only to have a bunch of chancers and screamers talk a lot about nothing much at all, until Perry spits vitriol at a pair of people in a punch-up and complains about "diluted sh*t." As an expression of going down defiant while punk became a new fashion, it's fierce and brilliant. A good half of the album comes from the same concert, including the harrowing final track, "Splitting in Two," as perfect a capturing of nails-dug-in-flesh paranoia and indecision as anything in music history, revived as a live favorite years later by the Chameleons. The studio cuts include a solid run-through of Zappa's "Why Don't You Do Me Right?" and the closest ATV ever came to an anthemic single, "Action Time Vision." The 1994 CD version adds 11 extra tracks to the original album, including the reggae-inflected "Love Lies Limp" and "Life After Life" singles, among many others, making it the edition of Image to look for.
