The Sound (2)

A.k.a. the most underrated band ever - in some sense rightly so. The magic of "The Sound" lies within the dichotomy of gallows and disco, simplicity and sincerity, progressiveness and measure, melancholy and joy coming from Adrian Borland - one of the most effective poets of mundane.

Their real debut was the album "Propaganda" released so late to honor Borland's tragic death in 1999. It has seeds of classic punk which they had later encapsulated in "Jeopardy" - very juvenile, but at the same time incredibly moving and sincere release, a simple's man "Joy Division" of sorts, that is a good thing, because unpretentiousness & fragile honesty is what made "The Sound" so relatable. "I can't escape myself" is my favorite song ever. Suffice to say, it's indicative of all the post-punk aesthetics - fear of oneself amidst social insensitivity.

Though it doesn't mean, that Borland haven't ever tried something epic and monumental, akin to Ian Curtis universal mindset. Bootleg "The Korova Demos" contained the yet not officially released song "Falling Boy", showcasing Adrian's endeavors at goth rock. He tried something similar with "Skeletons" (masterpiece of horror-existencionalism with some of the most stylish song's bridges and bass lines in all of the post-punk) and surprisingly grandiose "The New Dark Age", especially considering that the album "From The Lion's Mouth" has fruits of Curtis approach to symbolism: similar to Joy Division's "Closer" cover art uses ancient imagery, namely "Daniel in the lions' den" painting, to underline hope as a main theme of this release. However, if you wanna experience "The Sound" as an analogue to "Joy Division" you probably will be disappointed. Adrian's lyrics revolves mostly about more accessible everyday topics.

Soon after the 2nd release the band released one of the most experimental albums of the 80s - "All Fall Down". It still contained some elements of the past two, but somewhere near the middle transitioned into noise rock. Very underrated though, the opener by itself is the most stylish anthem of revolution, reinforced by tensely upbeat synths and choir on back vocals. Then it is followed by "Party Of My Mind", which is brilliantly written in a rather ambivalent manner. At first, it seems like your by the numbers playful pop rock to be soon juxtaposed by ominous surrealism, indicated by organically unnerving changes in lyrics, thriller-like guitar riffs by Adrian and added background laughs. Another strong song to stand out on this release is "The Monument" - one of the most elegant elegies alongside with "The Silent Air" from the 2nd album.

Lately the band was rounded up by more energetic pop rock albums with almost no resemblance of the initial sound (no pun intended). It's all still great, feeling like Adrian has set him free from the heavier parts of his angst in the past. He started to become more calm and collected, but without losing the sheer passion for music. I especially want to point out songs like "Winter", "Total Recall" and "Baria Alta" (should have been Bairro Alto by the way), showcasing what "The Sound" is capable of even after their heyday.

Eventually, Adrian has parted ways with the band, functioning as more of a singer-songwriter and collaborating with various small scale musicians. I recommend his solo releases pretty much.

Overall "The Sound" is a "unbrightfully brightest" example of undeservedly under the radar. One of the most influential bands in my life with the kind of song-writing approach, which speaks to you on a cellular level. For instance, I was unfortunate enough to fell in love when i first listened to "Hothouse", it described my aching feelings perfectly, while leaving me awe-inspired with such a beautiful 3 act bass chords and pointy synth notes on top of them. So The Sound's approach to the sound is exceptional too. They've used synthesizer not just as a common oddity at the time by adding melodic weight and mystic to many songs with it. At some occasions even skillfully experimented with unexpected instruments, like saxophone. Adrian constantly invented very distinct and enthralling guitar riffs, while knowing how to compliment the bass lines, which is a rare thing for me in rock by itself when you can recall such aspect clearly. Also there was almost something magnetic about Borland's voice. And the live and studio sessions albums even added much more layers to the pre-existing songs, improving them in some ways. I also recommend to check out "New Dark Age, A Tribute to The Sound" mixtape on the bandcamp website, it comes with fantastic "I can't escape myself" cover by Plastistatic.

As about Adrian Borland's persona, I was quite surprised, when i found out that he not only suffered from paranoidal schizophrenia at times, but refused to take his medicine just to perform better. He did everything in his power to create the music his heart was aching for till the day he could not take it anymore. There's nothing overly dramatic about that. Man was a real poet, complicated, but, on the other hand, full of hope - he considered himself an Ian Curtis antipode; constantly spiced up his melancholy with a beauty of life. Too bad, that even such an honorable way of living led him to a suicide. Makes me cry. If you can't find recent documentary about him ("Walking in the Opposite Direction") ask me for it, it's done maturely, with an educational moral and respect to both Borland and his colleagues.

D!XI

the greatest post-punk band, along with the chameleons, this heat & killing joke.

So, the wonderful Total Recall was not even a single?