Track of the Week: Eyeless In Gaza: Lights of April (1982)
"All our songs say one thing; say I want to understand, say I want to find reason to everything..." Martyn Bates
Often the price of being years ahead of your time is that you are ignored in your own time. Eyeless In Gaza sound absolutely stunning today, but they must have made very little sense when Martyn Bates and Peter Becker first got together in 1980. Consequently their record sales hardly set the world alight, and these days they are all but forgotten. Which is a shame, as if you have had the good fortune to stumble upon their music, you will find a startlingly original and emotionally rich musical world that seems to exist in its own little bubble, out of place and out of time. Certainly, peak period Eyeless In Gaza sounds like very little else in popular music, echoing choral and folk music whilst anticipating the glacial post rock of Sigur Ros and the icy electronica of Aphex Twin's ambient work. Somewhere along the line they picked up the label 'avant-folk', which may give you some idea of their sound, but doesn't quite capture the band's knack, at their best, of making music that is inventive, experimental but open and accessible.
'Lights of April' is one of the many highlights from their quietly wonderful 1982 album 'Drumming the Beating Heart'. The song is a beautiful, delicate soundscape, all sweeping organ and echoing bells, but with a determined starkness that only serves to highlight the song's beautiful melody. It is not unlike Sigur Ros, but with that band's epic aurora replaced with quiet introspection. Martyn Bates has an absolutely fantastic and very unusual voice, his thick accent giving his choir-boy singing an unusual twist. The melody is in a folky mode rather then your usual minor/major keys, giving the tune an archaic feel, harking back to something long-forgotten yet ultimately timeless that resides in us all. Which is appropriate, given the song's gorgeous lyrics - a simple yet poetic look at lost love and nostalgia, wrapped up with an indefinable longing. 'Idly tracing her face with her finger...' just beautiful. The song moves at a sedate pace, calm and dignified, but never degenerates into banal chillout. It is sad and reflective, but unlike many of their doom-mongering contempories, Eyeless In Gaza acknowledge life's brighter side: this is not an exercise in existential despair, but a fond remembrance of times past, and a reflection on the transient nature of our existence. The end result is starkly emotional and wonderfully uplifting. In today's post-rock climate, Eyeless In Gaza make fantastic sense, but back in 1982 they fitted contextually with very little else. Cruelly ignored by the public, they ploughed their own very individual furrow, constantly evolving and experimenting, and always open to new ideas. Perhaps, at some point, their music will be appreciated for how ahead of its time it truly was, but until then, all I can do is urge you to seek out this music; you'll be glad you did.
Often the price of being years ahead of your time is that you are ignored in your own time. Eyeless In Gaza sound absolutely stunning today, but they must have made very little sense when Martyn Bates and Peter Becker first got together in 1980. Consequently their record sales hardly set the world alight, and these days they are all but forgotten. Which is a shame, as if you have had the good fortune to stumble upon their music, you will find a startlingly original and emotionally rich musical world that seems to exist in its own little bubble, out of place and out of time. Certainly, peak period Eyeless In Gaza sounds like very little else in popular music, echoing choral and folk music whilst anticipating the glacial post rock of Sigur Ros and the icy electronica of Aphex Twin's ambient work. Somewhere along the line they picked up the label 'avant-folk', which may give you some idea of their sound, but doesn't quite capture the band's knack, at their best, of making music that is inventive, experimental but open and accessible.
'Lights of April' is one of the many highlights from their quietly wonderful 1982 album 'Drumming the Beating Heart'. The song is a beautiful, delicate soundscape, all sweeping organ and echoing bells, but with a determined starkness that only serves to highlight the song's beautiful melody. It is not unlike Sigur Ros, but with that band's epic aurora replaced with quiet introspection. Martyn Bates has an absolutely fantastic and very unusual voice, his thick accent giving his choir-boy singing an unusual twist. The melody is in a folky mode rather then your usual minor/major keys, giving the tune an archaic feel, harking back to something long-forgotten yet ultimately timeless that resides in us all. Which is appropriate, given the song's gorgeous lyrics - a simple yet poetic look at lost love and nostalgia, wrapped up with an indefinable longing. 'Idly tracing her face with her finger...' just beautiful. The song moves at a sedate pace, calm and dignified, but never degenerates into banal chillout. It is sad and reflective, but unlike many of their doom-mongering contempories, Eyeless In Gaza acknowledge life's brighter side: this is not an exercise in existential despair, but a fond remembrance of times past, and a reflection on the transient nature of our existence. The end result is starkly emotional and wonderfully uplifting. In today's post-rock climate, Eyeless In Gaza make fantastic sense, but back in 1982 they fitted contextually with very little else. Cruelly ignored by the public, they ploughed their own very individual furrow, constantly evolving and experimenting, and always open to new ideas. Perhaps, at some point, their music will be appreciated for how ahead of its time it truly was, but until then, all I can do is urge you to seek out this music; you'll be glad you did.
posted by Jonathan Thornton at 1:49 pm
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