Sad Lovers & Giants - Epic Garden Music (1982) (CD1988)

Drugi raz prezentuję ten zespół, za pierwszym razem nie było czasu na opis, więc teraz nadrabiam zaległości. Sad Lovers & Giants powstali w 1981 roku w Watford, Anglia. W ich muzyce możemy usłyszeć post-punk, folk oraz nuty psychodeli. Zespół w oryginalnym składzie nagrał dwa albumy, po czym u progu sukcesu komercyjnego, rozpadł się w roku 1984. Powrócili w zmienionym składzie w 1987 roku i nagrali trzy następne albumy, zanim wytwórnia przestała istnieć i nastapił kolejny rozpad zespołu. W 2002 Sad Lovers & Giants powstali z popiołów zapomnienia i ukazała się nowa płyta a zespół wyruszył w trasę koncertową. Przez zespół przewinęli się: Garçe (vocals), Tristan Garel-Funk (później w zespole The Snake Corps) (guitar), Tony McGuinness (członek Above & Beyond) (guitar), Cliff Silver (bass), Ian Gibson (bass), David Wood (keyboards & saxophone), Juliet Sainsbury (keyboards) i Nigel Pollard (drums & percussion).
Prezentowana płyta zawiera osiem kompozycji oryginalnie wydanych na "Epic Garden Music" 12-inch w 1982 roku, plus siedem dodatkowych utworów zebranych z trzech 7-inch singli: "Imagination", "Landslide", and "When I See You" (singiel "Clé"); "Colourless Dream" and "Things We Never Did" (singiel "Colourless Dream"); "Lost in a Moment" and "The Tightrope Touch" (singiel "Lost in a Moment").

Working hard to further their penchant for hashing together paisley underground psychedelia and classic post-punk, Sad Lovers and Giants followed their first two acclaimed singles with the hefty EP Epic Garden Music in fall 1982. With a delicious blend of gloomy guitar and bass infused with punch and verve that recalls early Cure, and a sophisticated wordplay that was uniquely their own, the quintet split the songs between seaside and countryside, between earth and air, and inflected a little of each into the music. Absolutely cohesive and completely on track, the songs on this set are slick and smooth. From the opening "Echoplay" and the foggy "Clocktower Lodge," which walk a quiet edge, to the pure pop of "Alice (Isn't Playing)" and the ominous closer "Far From the Sea," which sounds as if vocalist Garce Allard sang his part through a window outside the studio, each moment is a masterpiece. And, though most of the songs maintain similar a tempo and intensity, "Clint" snaps heads around, while "Lope" features a sublimely off-kilter sax solo from David Wood. It's an addition that brings the closing dregs of a traveling circus to mind -- or, perhaps in a nod to the side's vibe, a closing seaside town that has turned a woolen shoulder to November wind and rain. Sorely overlooked outside of England, Sad Lovers and Giants may have been lost in the wake of the post-punk generation's heroes, but they haven't been forgotten. They remain a small pearl -  a gem of the ocean that birthed them.
Amy Hanson, All Music Guide

 
 
1. Imagination
2. Landslide
3. When I See You
4. Colourless Dream
5. Things We Never Did
6. Lost In a Moment
7. The Tightrope Touch
8. Echoplay
9. Clocktower Lodge
10. Clint
11. Lope
12. Cloud 9
13. ART (By Me)
14. Alice (Isn't Playing)
15. Far From the Sea