[kj] Scariest record & Namanax vs Cindytalk

[Alexander Smith]

What I wrote about IT'LL END IN TEARS on ILM:

I'm a big fan of all three TMC albums, but this one especially 
distinguishes itself. I first heard Liz Fraser's ethereal rendition of 
"Song to the Siren" as the intro tape (!!!) to a mid-80's arena stop by 
Robert Plant (who, apparently, is a big fan of TMC and the Cocteaus). 
Heard the album a second time a few months later in a dingey record 
shack in the far flung exapnse of Newark, Ohio (Threshhold Audio, 
pedants!) and was singularly intrigued...wondering how this stirring, 
misty album found its way to the heartland of America (where Robert 
Palmer and Journey seemed to exclusively rule). I picked it up (along 
with a comparitively incongruous copy of Throb Throb by Naked Raygun) 
and have never been the same since.

Steeped in sepia-toned pixie dust, tracks drift seemlessly in and out 
of the speakers (with one ham-fisted exception,...see below) in the 
closest approximation of a "dream state" as has been captured in a 
studio. From Liz Fraser's and Lisa Gerrard's haunting vocals (to say 
nothiner of Cindytalk's [?!?!] Gordon Sharp) through subtle strings, 
guitars and hammered dulcimers that cut through the mist, its an audio 
wandering across a foggy, North Scottish beach in the dense, humid 
thickness of summer. Listening to the lovingly woven progression from 
"Waves Become Wings" into "Barramundi" (an exotic fish, apparently) and 
gradually into "Dreams Made Flesh" is to verily puncture the higher 
reaches of the velveteen skies and caress the very undercarriage of 
heaven.....or something.

It all plummets like a once-majestic, deflating, blue heron-shaped 
dirigible, however, upon the clumsy opening chords of "Not Me," wherein 
luckless Modern English's Robbie Grey (flanked by some Cocteaus and one 
Xmal Deutschlander) give it some whiney guitar pop that sticks out of 
the proceedings like an unsolicited erection during an otherwise 
beautific wedding celebration.

This one bit of ill-timed flotsam notwithstanding, It'll End in Tears 
remains for me one of the most stirring collections of music to be 
found. Is it precious and histrionic? But of course. Does it border 
dangerously on the forbidding frontiers of "New Age" music? Admittedly, 
yes. But it's still a rich, gorgeous piece of work.

Alex in NYC


On Thursday, April 14, 2005, at 12:59 PM, Bo Krogsgaard wrote:

>
> On Thu, 14 Apr 2005, Alexander Smith wrote:
>
>> If I'm not mistaken, "Song to the Siren" was simply Liz Fraser and 
>> Robin Guthrie. I think Gordon Sharp sang "Fond Affections," though 
>> (and lots on the second TMC record).
>
> Right you are. He sang Kangaroo, Fond Affection and A Single Wish on 
> the first album. Not a single track from Filigree And Shadow though, 
> no.
>
>> IT'll END IN TEARS is a gem of a record (apart from "Not Me," the 
>> sole clunker) that you should all rush out and purchase or steal.
>
> This is where we stop to agree. Not Me is bloody amazing, although it 
> doesn't fit that album at all. X Mal Deutschland and Modern English 
> members covering Colin Newman just about sums up what i loved about 
> 4AD in the 80s.
>
> As for Cindytalk, Camouflage Heart is a fucking amazing album indeed, 
> really spooky at times, really haunting, but all too goth for me.
>
> Namanax - Monstrous and SPK - Leichenschrei would probably be my top 
> "scary" picks, and also, if you have the vinyl copy of Coil - 
> Hellraiser, try playing it at 33RPM. I did that the first four years i 
> had it :>
>
> Namanax's track Journey To The Battle Of Varanax gives me fucking 
> chills every time i hear it, it's simply fanfuckingtastic. 32 minutes 
> of pure horror soundscape!
>
>
> b
>
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