The Sound - Classic/Dud/Search/Destroy

1. From the Lions Mouth
2. Jeopardy
3. Thunder Up
4. Heads and Hearts
5. All Fall Down

Haha, when I was hearing them I immediately wondered if Scott has posted about these guys yet.

Indeed. Similarly with the Comsat Angels.

though I was REALLY impressed when I was confusing them with the Music and thought they were a new band.

Heh. I like that.

I think they're alright.

Yeah, Andy's sorta ambivalent, really.

A separate take on the 2002 American tour.

"Contact The Fact" ROXOR!

(help I've turned into Geeta) ! ! ! !

(Ordered mine a while ago, but it hasn't shown up yet.. waaah, I want it now!)

haha i've come to like the production. there's much to like about Hugh Jones' work, definitely.

I got the dual disc BBC Recordingsdisc and, well, holy fucking shit. Multiply all previous "they shoulda been huge" comments by a factor of 100.

The Sound
House of Love
Chameleons
Echo and the Bunnymen

Sounds like a plan to me!

Am listening to All Fall Down this very second and "Monument" just finished. Dr. C said it a couple of years ago so I don't have to.

http://www.myspace.com/magicbullets

I suspect I'd probably think Winning was a lot nicer if the 'I'm gonna make it after all!' sentiment wasn't offet by the 'Hang on a minute, this guy jumped in front of a train three years ago!' realisation

In my case, I now realize that I have the exact opposite feeling about the Sound and Adrian B. -- when it comes to figures like, say, Jim Morrison or Ian Curtis, their sound and the post-death cults (for lack of a better word) combine to create a resultant expectation that is often hard to properly escape, especially if like me you encounter them well after the fact.

Admittedly I did the same with the Sound as well, hearing them first well after their breakup but before Adrian died, but like, say, Billy Mackenzie and the Associates, when I hear the Sound I hear life, I hear exultance for lack of a better word. For all the most intense moments that Adrian can create with his words and singing, there is a grace and soaring resonance that causes me to rise, not sink. The comparisons with U2 and Bono don't work for me because there is something here that is strong but not overbearing, a true warmth -- and the more I think about so many of the band's contemporaries, the more that seems to be near unique, that the lighter singing voice (if only by degrees in some cases) compared to others is what gives the Sound its unique feel still for me.

I hear the Sound and I hear an embrace, not hectoring or rabble-rousing. That to me is a true gift.

That for me is spot on, and nicely put to boot.

Also, that sort of warmth you talk about is really evident on "Fatal Flaw" - that sort of falling-into-place moment when it reaches the motif that repeats to the end is one of my favourite drawn-out repetitive outros of ooh, ever.

You'd have hoped that he'd weathered the storm, but by all accounts he got more ill as time went on.

"It's 1976 and Tim and his pal Adrian Borland (who at the time was in a punk band called 'The Outsiders' and later on fronted a band called 'The Sound') and an amazing rock drummer called Bruce Bizland (no one knows what happened to him) make a band and do about two gigs then stop...they sounded a bit like the rocky instrumental bits on that David Bowie album 'The Man Who Sold The World' didn't they. They never gave their band a name either."

I've often meant to investigate The Sound but never got round to it. Maybe sometime I will.

What a great song... I wish he had sung all screamy like that more.
Great great band.

they were v.good live - I must have seen them 10 times or so
Ahhhh! $*#@&!!!

http://www.renascent.co.uk/

...then go down to the albums section. Please to note the *FIVE* live Sound albums from 1981 to 1985 now available -- they're all taken from Dutch radio broadcasts, and all are midpriced at that.

That thread on Crawling Chaos reminded me of these guys; I saw that same OGWT clip linked above on one of those late night 'Whistle Test Years' programmes a few years ago, and they blew me away. But I never got around to picking up the Renascent reissues, and they're out of print now as the licence expired. Supposely Warner Bros is supposed to be re-releasing them, but when? Anyone heard anything?

Listening to All Fall Down today and am convinced that it was way ahead of it's time - while simultaneously being a spiritual successor (however you wish to define that) to Scary Monsters

classic

a. party of the mind is an amazing song
b. total recall is one of the best-ever semi-bitter post-breakup songs
c. some of adrian borland's solo stuff is heart-breaking

Too little discussion about this amazing band that seems destined to remain lost in time. Their catalog was out of print for years, back thanks to Renascent and now back out of print and going for stupid money on Amazon (except the live albums, which is better than nothing). Looks like their last album, "Thunder Up" is on eMusic. Wasn't Warner supposed to reissue their first 3 albums?

Anyway, The Sound surely kept me sane when I was young - such passionate music, and lyrics that kept saying "Keep going!" "Winning" still revs my engine. Any other appreciators of the sadly missed Adrian Borland?

Classic because I made a killing on Lion's Mouth; wasn't fussed by the music, sadly. Still, the profit meant I could buy more records.

love of all their record to death

I have the renascent reissues of Jeopardy and FTLM. I like them. They do the Joy Division-y impending doom thing well but with an optimistic twist (Winning especially). On one of the live bonus tracks, to gee up the crowd, he introduces it by saying something like, "c'mon! let's get indigestion!". That's definitely classic.

Are the renascent reissues valuable?

people are overcharging for them secondhand, yes

SECOND LAYER!

had all of these on record

sold them for $$$

Yeah, listening to some minimal synth today thinking, "This is good but Second Layer one one of the best and creepiest". Out Joy Divisioned Joy Division at times.

indeed, and holy smokes, i just saw that cherry red actually reissued "world of rubber" last year whoaowowo

love the tension/release in "i can't escape myself"

really jarring

I'm happy whenever I see this thread revived.

back thanks to Renascent and now back out of print and going for stupid money on Amazon

Yes, I'm still searching for a few of these. Sadly out of print again. I like everything I have so far, though.

Holding on to my copies for dear life.

I will steal them when your back is turned.

Tsk

Does anyone else have the BBC Sessions album? The version of Hothouse on there is incredible, the last 90 seconds has to be one of my favorite bits of music ever.

I think Heads & Hearts might be my favorite album overall but they have so many great tracks. Heartland, Total Recall, Party Of My Mind, Skeletons, Winning and Missiles are all classics. It's a shame there isn't a best of available.

It'd be handy as a primer.

Looks like their last album, "Thunder Up" is on eMusic.

The one I still don't have!

"Thunder Up" is also on spotify. I've been meaning to buy more Sound albums for ages, and on the basis of the last album, I need to try harder to investigate further.

*ahem* http://rocketsciencerecords.blogspot.com/2009/01/sound-all-fall-down-1982.html

The third comment is the winner.

Does anyone else have the BBC Sessions album?

Oh yes, it is glorious.

Does anyone else have the BBC Sessions album?

Like I said upthread:

Revive!

I got the dual disc BBC Recordings disc and, well, holy fucking shit. Multiply all previous "they shoulda been huge" comments by a factor of 100.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, August 18, 2004 4:12 PM (5 years ago)

I remember reading an interview with Interpol not long after their first album came out, and I was shocked and dismayed that they insisted they had never even heard of, let alone heard The Sound, Comsat Angels, and possibly even the Chameleons. I wondered if they were lying, as I swear I could hear bits that could have been directly lifted from those albums.

It was a happy, happy day when I got all those Renascent promos in the mail.

http://www.fastnbulbous.com/sound.htm

I was shocked and dismayed that they insisted they had never even heard of, let alone heard The Sound, Comsat Angels, and possibly even the Chameleons

Hahaha. What a poor bunch of liars.

Hahaha. What a poor bunch of liars musicians.

Fixed.

interpol drummer is quite good

The worst thing about them is their lyrics. Other than that, I like 'em fine, though I was really surprised when they topped P4k's 2002 Poll. I still think that's crazy. It just kills me to see so many rabid Interpol fans completely unaware of the awesomeness that is The Sound (and Comsats n Chameleons).

Are there rabid Interpol fans anymore?

They sure acted rabid when I made fun of their hilarious lyrics!

They just seem to have gone the Girls Against Boys route -- they signed to a major label and then apparently disappeared with a suddenness that rivals the Witness Protection Program.

That one heartthrob singer dude put out a solo album a year or two ago under some funky pseudoname, didn't he?

Did anyone actually buy it?

Last year. Friend of mine worked on it, says he was a nice guy.

Sometimes nice people do not make nice music for ears (see: tons of indie-pop bands).

dude was never a heartthrob!

Haven't listened tp Thunder Up in a long time - tremendously great for an album that even Sound fans forget about.

I just listened to that today and thought the same thing. Every one of their albums feels like the best thing they've ever done, including the live one. I'm not sure I can even rank them. God, the conviction of Adrian's lyrics, the brilliant guitar work, the mood-setting (and unsettling) synths... I can't put into words how much this music has meant to me.

Just listened to Propaganda the other day after a long period away from The Sound. Great record - funny how lots of it was discarded before Jepoardy. I like the stripped down sound better without the keyboard wash in retrospect.

Ranking: Propaganda>Jeopardy>All Fall Down>Lion's Mouth>BBC>Hothouse live>Thunder Up>>>>>Heads and Heart>>>>Shock Of Daylight.

I must get out my vinyl of Jeopardy/AFD/Lion/Hothouse some day soon!

Sadface at the general lack of enthusiasm for Shock of Daylight, I still love that thing. 'Golden Soldiers' and 'Longest Days' are awesome songs!

Hey, there's been lots of great stuff uploaded to YouTube since I last looked...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cDRLBWQ7ks

...dries eyes, clears throat...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdczCmH9oGg

Wow!

Yeah, the guitar break on that is savage!

Propaganda>Jeopardy>All Fall Down>Lion's Mouth>BBC>Hothouse live>Thunder Up>>>>>Heads and Heart>>>>Shock Of Daylight.

Ok, so you clearly prefer the punkier stuff, which I agree is fantastic. But "Heads And Hearts" and "Shock Of Daylight" are INSANELY great as well. "Counting The Days" is a love song to end all love songs, "One Thousand Reasons" has this ambiance and texture unlike anything else, "Winter" will leave you as cold as the title, "World As It Is" has this crazy rhythm section - and of course Adrian's lyrics were in top form at this point:
"Too much daylight leads to a nightlife and the fear of another day / That's going to last four or five years"
"Always kept caution close at hand / Never threw it to the wind"
"Opposites attracting / With the magnets in their eyes"
"I've arrived at the point somewhere in between / The person that I wanted to be and the person I've been"

His music just connects someplace deep within me, always has and I expect it always will, despite life's changing circumstances, The Sound helped me take small comfort in knowing someone else felt the same - and their undercurrent of hope has always buoyed my spirits.

xpost - damn, that vid... Adrian's face, he's clearly singing words that are deeply personal and still applicable to himself. "Comfort and complacency, they hurt me!" Yeah, I know how that feels.

xpost Yes, I do. They were always great, but I felt they mellowed a bit too much for me later on. I prefer the later stuff in live form really. I have an Outsiders album that is as stunning as Propaganda. If ONLY someone would release the full Outsiders work!

Been thinking about things that make me upset with music . . .

Why the fuck didn't someone (not on ILM, I know you guys have sense but I just joined) but y'know a good friend, a watchful parent, SOMEBODY!, why did no one ever have the common decency to alert me to The Sound before all their LP's became so horribly impossible to get at a reasonable price?

Yes, a guardian musical angel would be a nice thing to have. But even if you're late to the game, in this modern world there are folks who can hook you up if the system fails you.

I hadn't listened to In The Hothouse in a long time (usually go to the furious BBC Sessions) and had forgotten what a tremendous unstoppably powerful slow burn it is. "Sense Of Purpose -> Missiles" 1-2 TKO

Somebody MUST reissue the whole of the Outsiders work. Renescent? Dan Selzer?

YES. And soon.

Massively, massively amazing band. I discovered them about ten years ago and still play them regularly. I was recently fortunate enough to stumble upon beautiful-condition original pressings of From the Lion's Mouth, All Fall Down, and Heads and Hearts, all at the same place.

Somebody MUST reissue the whole of the Outsiders work. Renescent?

Renascent is no longer active, is it?

Yeah, according to their site, House Of Love and Woodentops were the last reissues they did in 2007. Bummer.

There's also this:

http://www.occultation.co.uk

I know them because they're doing the Distractions CD that was one of the first reissues I tried to do. They have Wild Swans, so maybe they're somehow related to Renescent

I currently have my hands full with 6 LP/Digital releases, starting with Disco Zombies and Happy Refugees.

Oh look, the first two albums are finally getting another reissue.

I wonder if there's any sound improvement over the Renascent reissues?

Did you think there was anything wrong with the Renascent remasters?

oh that's excellent news, for some reason i missed the renascent ones

xp Not really, though word is they were remastered from vinyl and if the original masters were found it might be an improvement.

Dr. C's wish has been fulfilled - the two Outsiders albums have been reissued on CD by Cherry Red!

They included the One to Infinity EP, too, thank god!

Classic, of course! One can't help but listen to a song like, for example, 'Skeletons' and marvel at the fact that this band didn't become huge.

these guys are great. totally killed jeopardy and lion's mouth in college, think it's been enough time to rediscover

There's nothing more for me to say than what I've already posted in this thread. Adrian's body of work needs an anthology, covering all his main avenues and side streets, which just might reintroduce him to the world.

I hadn't realised that 'Thunder Up' was on eMusic until I saw the mention up thread last night, hearing it for the first time now.

"Total Recall" is incredible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctIaWNezydg

^ Love this take of Winning, they were on fire here.

That from Utrecht, 1982, No Nukes festival, one of the 5 live albums released by Renascent. Fantastic stuff.

Aw man, that's a great rendition. Just seen what the original poster wrote about it here:

I suspect I'd probably think Winning was a lot nicer if the 'I'm gonna make it after all!' sentiment wasn't offet by the 'Hang on a minute, this guy jumped in front of a train three years ago!' realisation

― Ferg (Ferg), Tuesday, March 18, 2003 8:08 PM (9 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

and I totally agree. Knowing that Borland would commit suicide in the most horrific way turns the way I feel about this song completely on its head. On its surface, it's a song about getting on top of a battle with depression and bad circumstances, but after knowing that Adrian killed himself and HOW he killed himself, the song feels so much more desperate. Like he wants to be "winning", rather than he is "winning". The song doesn't console me and make me feel like I can overcome obstacles in life; on the contrary, it makes me feel incredibly sad. The guy who wanted to win, more than anything in the fucking universe, sadly didn't. It's upsetting.

That's one perspective, agreed. And every April I shed a tear for the poor bastard whose music will live with me forever.

BUT... For a time, he WAS winning his personal battles, and in some places he was winning the hearts and minds of fans.

The fact that his end was so dark doesn't diminish the power of the song, and it still inspires me.

I think of the Sound when I listen to Soror Dolorosa.

Lovely news here -- a new Sound box set covering the first few years. Mostly replicating the various Renascent reissues on first blush but even so, nice to see this happening:

http://www.redsunrecords.com/the-sound-boxset-2014-reissue

DISC ONE - JEOPARDY

I Can’t Escape Myself
Heartland
Hour Of Need
Words Fail Me
Missiles
Heyday
Jeopardy
Night Versus Day
Resistance
Unwritten Law
Desire
Physical World (Physical World EP)
Brute Force (B-Side Of ‘Heyday’ Single)
Heartland (Live Instinct EP)
Brute Force (Live Instinct EP)
Jeopardy (Live Instinct EP)
Coldbeat (Live Instinct EP)
Heartland (BBC Session October 1980)
Unwritten Law (BBC Session October 1980)
Jeopardy (BBC Session October 1980)
I Can’t Escape Myself (BBC Session October 1980)
DISC TWO - FROM THE LION’S MOUTH

Winning
Sense Of Purpose
Contact The Fact
Skeletons
Judgement
Fatal Flaw
Possession
The Fire
Silent Air
New Dark Age
Point Of No Return (Single B-side)
Hot House (Single B-side)
Coldbeat (Single B-side)
New Dark Age (Live)
Fatal Flaw (BBC Session November 1981)
Skeletons (BBC Session November 1981)
Hothouse (BBC Session November 1981)
New Dark Age (BBC Session November 1981)

DISC THREE - ALL FALL DOWN

All Fall Down
Party Of The Mind
Monument
In Suspense
Where The Love Is
Song And Dance
Calling The New Tune
Red Paint
Glass And Smoke
We Could Go Far
The One And A Half Minute Song (All Fall Down Sessions)
Sorry (All Fall Down Sessions)
As Feeling Dies (All Fall Down Sessions)
We Could Go Far (unreleased original version)
Plenty (This Cover Keeps Reality Unreal EP)
‘Neath Dancing Waves (This Cover Keeps Reality Unreal EP)
Amber (This Cover Keeps Reality Unreal EP)
Scapegoat In A Country Churchyard (This Cover Keeps Reality Unreal EP)

DISC FOUR - BBC LIVE IN CONCERT

Originally broadcast 21st November 1981
BBC Intro - Pete Drummond
Unwritten Law
Skeletons
Fatal Flaw
Winning
Sense Of Purpose
Heartland
New Dark Age
Originally broadcast 15th June 1985
BBC Intro - Pete Drummond + Intro music
Golden Soldiers
Under You
Total Recall
Burning Part Of Me
Whirlpool
Missiles
* releasedate 14th April 2014

That's a lot of repeated stuff, but at least a disc's worth of stuff I don't have/never heard.

My copy arrived today, sounds great on first listen, will A/B with Renascent copies.

Good interview with Bi Marshall here:
http://awww.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Article.aspx?id=7387

http://blog.anymeeting.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/charlie-sheen-winning.png

The Sound - Winning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWaN5aUbSLU
my favorite The Sound song, followed by 2.Unwritten Law 3.I Can't Escape Myself 4.Missiles (the Jeopardy version of all three songs.) http://grooveshark.com/#!/album/Jeopardy/4042587

The new box definitely adds something to the mix, more depth, not as flat as the Renascent CDs. And no extra bass or anything like that.

I still think the "All Fall Down" outtakes are at the wrong speed despite claims that's what Adrian intended.

Still waiting for mine. Where are you in the world, Gerald?

Every review that I've seen of the new set goes out of its way to mention how much of an improvement the mastering is over the Renascent editions (which I thought were not bad by any means).

I'm in Boston, ordered from AmazonUK and it took just over a week.

I must say, I hadn't listened to the studio versions in a few years as the live takes are generally much fiercer.

Got mine today!

Couldn't stand it, so I skipped straight to All Fall Down. I noticed right away what you mean with "more depth." 'Glass and Smoke' actually has dynamics now!

Thought the Renascent editions would be hard to top, but somehow they did it.

Okay, next and presumably last Sound box set now up for preorder:

http://www.redsunrecords.com/the-sound-shock-of-daylight-heads-hearts-in-the-hothouse-thunder-up-propaganda-5-cd-set

DISC ONE - Shock Of Daylight

Golden Soldiers
Longest Days
Counting The Days
Winter
New Way Of Life
Dreams Then Plans
BONUS - Restless Songs and Golden Soldiers - The Lost Demo Recordings
Golden Soldiers (demo)
A New Way Of Life (demo)
Counting The Days (demo)
Mining For Heart (demo)
Oiled (demo)
Steel Your Air (demo)
Fall Of Europe (demo)
Love Is Not A Ghost (demo)
Blood And Poison (demo)
Whirlpool (demo)
DISC TWO - Heads And Hearts

Whirpool
Total Recall
Under You
Burning Part Of Me
Love Is Not A Ghost
Wildest Dreams
One Thousand Reasons
Restless Time
Mining For Heart
World As It Is
Temperature Drop
BONUS - B-Sides & Rare
Blood And Poison
Steel Your Air
Oiled
Shimmer
DISC THREE - In The Hot House (Live)

Winning
Under You
Total Recall
Skeletons
Prove Me Wrong
Wildest Dreams
Burning Part Of Me
Heartland
Hothouse
Judgement
Counting The Days
Red Paint
Silent Air
Sense Of Purpose
Missiles
DISC FOUR - Thunder Up

Acceleration Group
Hand Of Love
Barria Alta
Kinetic
Iron Years
Prove Me Wrong
Shot Up And Shut Down
Web Of Wicked Ways
I Give You Pain
Hand Of Love
You've Got A Way
BONUS - B-Sides
Iron Years (Remix)
I Give You Pain (Live)
Fall Of Europe
Such A Difference To Me
DISC FIVE - Propaganda

No Salvation
Deep Breath
Cost Of Living
Quarter Past Two
Night Vs. Day
Physical World
Statik
Music Business
Propaganda
Words Fail Me
One More Escape
Missiles

Most interested in those _Shock of Daylight_ era demos.

I love Shock of Daylight, kind of for sentimental reasons (first record of theirs I bought), but mostly cos that first side is knockout stuff imo. That sublime guitar part in Longest Days just melts me. Have heard it said that Terry Bickers was a big fan of Borland, and really it's not that far from Longest Days to Love In A Car - both borne out of lovely tremulous guitar lines; songs that make me catch my breath, not wanting the spell to be broken.

Apart from that and the live album, I don't actually know any of the other stuff on that box. Any good?

Just in case anyone doesn't know it already...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FhikwpRR58

Heads and Hearts and Thunder Up both have a lot of good songs on them -- I'm particularly fond of the former's "Wildest Dreams" -- and Propaganda is a nice early demos collection just before he started up the Sound as such.

The second box set arrived today. Digging into the extra stuff - the demos are interesting but I'm often amazed at how a decent sounding demo can go on to become an incredible finished song.

Just became aware of, and ordered, the second box set. Fantastic.

And early talk of a possible third set: http://www.brittleheaven.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=29

A quick A/B comparison of the new box vs the Renascent releases: not a big difference in sound quality, the box sounds like it's just a touch brighter and Adrian's vocals are clearer, especially on "In The Hothouse". A nice improvement overall but not as noticeable as with the first box.

I especially like having a proper version of "Oiled", for which I previously had a vinyl rip. What a fantastic song!

Oh, but they edited out some of the intro/outro stage chatter from "Hothouse". I don't know how I feel about that as I'm so used to it being there.

And while I'm being pedantic, the live version of "I Give You Pain" sounds like it's from a different show than the one on the 12".

Gonna get the new sets as soon as my tax refund comes in, should fill in the gaps in my Renascent discs / general knowledge of The Sound nicely. Til then, I second Ned's honorable mention, 12 years ago, of Borland's solo stuff, I particularly like "Long Dark Train" from the same 1996 album. And I'm shocked, SHOCKED, that no one's mentioned the song "AD RE: IAN," the 2013 tribute to Borland and another guy whose name I'm sure you can guess, from Slumberland gloomies Wax Idols. I felt a nice jolt when I heard of that song, as The Sound seem to be still so unrecognized 30 years after "Heads and Hearts" produced no hits. I'm not well-versed in this band's history, but I wonder if they purposefully avoided choosing "Total Recall" and "Love is Not a Ghost" as singles to escape the certain mega-fame that would have entailed.

Got the box in the mail yesterday and have made my way through a good chunk of it.

Thunder Up is the most dramatically improved, as it never received a remaster job.

Really nice to have all these b-sides as well.

Another winner of a set.

Aw man, that's a great rendition. Just seen what the original poster wrote about it here:

I suspect I'd probably think Winning was a lot nicer if the 'I'm gonna make it after all!' sentiment wasn't offet by the 'Hang on a minute, this guy jumped in front of a train three years ago!' realisation

― Ferg (Ferg), Tuesday, March 18, 2003 8:08 PM (9 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

and I totally agree. Knowing that Borland would commit suicide in the most horrific way turns the way I feel about this song completely on its head. On its surface, it's a song about getting on top of a battle with depression and bad circumstances, but after knowing that Adrian killed himself and HOW he killed himself, the song feels so much more desperate. Like he wants to be "winning", rather than he is "winning". The song doesn't console me and make me feel like I can overcome obstacles in life; on the contrary, it makes me feel incredibly sad. The guy who wanted to win, more than anything in the fucking universe, sadly didn't. It's upsetting.

― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Sunday, 20 January 2013 02:14 (three years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

That's one perspective, agreed. And every April I shed a tear for the poor bastard whose music will live with me forever.

BUT... For a time, he WAS winning his personal battles, and in some places he was winning the hearts and minds of fans.

The fact that his end was so dark doesn't diminish the power of the song, and it still inspires me.

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Sunday, 20 January 2013 02:30 (three years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Keep on thinking about "Winning" and "New Dark Age" right now. Want to believe in the first song more.

Oh, it's a "New Dark Age" alright, and we'll "All Fall Down" and the "Heartland" will suffer during these "Iron Years". We'll see some "Brute Force" in the "Hothouse" while we're "Counting The Days". But there will be "Resistance" searching for that "Fatal Flaw" followed by "Dreams Then Plans". Once we find our "Sense Of Purpose", we'll reach out with the "Hand Of Love" and start "Winning".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH97tb4-6Uw

Been thinking a lot about this version of 'Silent Air' since the news of Anthony Bourdain hit yesterday.

wow that's an amazing song + performance!

Thanks for the revive - that 5CD set is so great.

Finally getting around to the Outsiders with Cherry Red's predictably excellent CD reissue of Calling On Youth.

First impression, for one of the supposedly "important early independent punk" albums, it's not actually very punk, is it? I mean, the guitar playing is way too good to actually be punk, and side two of the album is just kind of slow and quiet for the most part. Adrian's obviously really young and overly ambitious here, but he's obviously pretty charismatic, even at this very early point. Overall though, pleasantly surprised.

Taking in Close Up this evening and, I have to say, it's pretty much an all around improvement over Calling On Youth. Production, songs, technicality. . . just better on all fronts. Definitely segues nicely into the Propaganda era (which subsequently segues perfectly into Jeopardy).

https://austintayeshus.blogspot.com/2018/12/what-are-spectral-projections.html

https://www.discogs.com/master/2523988-The-Sound-Will-And-Testament-Starlight

Uhm?

oh wow! a live album of their later material i guess

look like it's all up on yt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mbq2cGjX8M

Yep, on Spotify too.

this incoming second layer comp popped up on bandcamp today:

https://daily.bandcamp.com/album-of-the-day/second-layer-courts-or-wars-review

hadn't actually heard 'courts of wars' before... fuuck, amazing song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_01T9uFgew

'or' not 'of' obv

yeah I first heard second layer through that song on a Messthetics comp. So cool!!

“that song” - courts or wars

(wide eyes emoji)

i'll be back in later with thoughts.

Second Layer is arguably more Joy Division THAN Joy Division. Fantastic, singular work - wonderfully dark and deep.

Hey Austin, in case didn't hear about this book:

Destiny Stopped Screaming: The Life and Times of Adrian Borland https://www.amazon.com/dp/9090379355/

I am a notoriously slow reader and likely won't get to this for yonks.

ahhh thanks for thinking of me ― definitely of interest! reviews look pretty positive. in my wishlist.

unrelated but the trash theory youtube channel recently did 7 Influential Post-Punk Bands You Should've Heard and the feature on the sound begins around 41mins. it's a good overview and i was thrilled to see them featured.

Yeah, I saw that. Adrian's gone 25 years and I'm always chuffed to see he's not forgotten.

I only discovered this band recently with From the Lion's Mouth, which is great! I think I'd heard about them numerous times here and other places over the years but maybe their generic name had me confusing them with other bands. Anyway, that's remedied now, look forward to listening to the rest!

I just realised I only know this band because of Jeopardy, which is obviously fucking great, and their first single, and I don't actually know any of their other stuff. I had no idea they had so many albums

I have the reissues of both Outsiders albums and love both of those, love Second Layer and the Witch Trials, funny/sad I know so little of Borland's music after that

First I heard of them was seeing a clip on one of those Whistle Test compilation shows that used to be on BBC Four, well over 20 years ago now. It was them playing “Sense of Purpose” and I was mesmerised; Borland was like a British Bob Mould to me! I got the Revenant CD of From the Lions Mouth soon after and I’ve loved it ever since (just got the vinyl reissue too).

It was only later, after learning more of their back story, that my realised late uncle might have known them; he toured with Echo and the Bunnymen back in the day doing their lights.

*realised my

it's officially unavailable digitally, but it needs to be heard: the band's john peel session from november 81. setlist is: fatal flaw, hothouse, new dark age, skeletons. the 'hothouse' they play here is the definitive: one round of the chorus will suffice, otherwise enjoy the tension.

Yeah the way that version of Hothouse transforms the song is incredible, that Peel session always worth a listen

I listened to a live version of Sense of Purpose on Spotify after that and that thumping final stretch gets me hyped every time, would love to have seen them do that live

Borland was like a British Bob Mould to me!

hadn't ever occurred to me before, but yeah i totally get that - that raw urgency to communicate truths that feel like they're burning a hole right through them, that other place they both seem to go to when they're channeling that through a guitar. lots of my own teenage angst bound up in both back catalogues, both sometimes kind of painful for me to listen to now for that reason tbh