Document.
With last week’s REM album still murmuring in the old ear canals, a real development in their sound can be heard compared with their early work. While Murmur was an indie classic that rejected cliches, Document is a progression towards the more accessible rock that appears on 1988’s Green. Deeper, richer, more pronounced guitar riffs, such as that which drives “The One I Love”, are apparent, while even the odd guitar solo is afforded, something REM adamantly refused on their debut. The REM sound of old does feature on Document, the politically charged “Exhuming McCarthy” for instance, but the foreshadowing of REMs popularity and mainstream success in the decade to follow is apparent from the now much loved “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” and “The One I Love”. Tunes aplenty. Regret not indulging in REM sooner.
Sister.
Another band that attempted to develop themselves sonically with their 1987 album is Sonic Youth. Having established themselves with their first three albums as no wave noisemakers, Sister is a serious transition into popular music. The noise rock elements remain, but they also incorporate tuneful alternative, indie, post-punk melodies. This progression paves the way for arguably Sonic Youth’s opus in 1988; without Sister, there is no Daydream Nation. The fast-paced rhythms driven by energetic drum beats, interspersed by occasional Floyd-esque sway inducing progressive rock such as on “Schizophrenia”, “Pacific Coast Highway” and “Cotton Crown”, create an original sound that would define Sonic Youth, and influence indie bands for years to come. Supposedly inspired by the life and works of Phillip K Dick. What’s not to love.
Sign o’ the Times.
Another artist who I’ve been seemingly happy to ignore these past 27 years of my existence, Prince; low and behold, another regret. Sign o’ the Times is a bonafide classic which for the most part is a minimalist funky rock album, though it is does range stylistically. The opening title track features a drum machine (used predominately throughout the album), while Prince’s intimate vocals tell of the issues facing humanity in 1987: drug abuse, the AIDS pandemic, gang violence, social inequality and the Cold War to name a few. This song is still hauntingly relevant due to the lack of progress on most of these issues. The themes Prince conveys across the entire album and the manner in which they are presented highlight his songwriting ability, placing him firmly in competition for greatest songwriter of all time; the whimsical childlike imagery of the catchy “Starfish and Coffee”, the lustful sex tracks “It” and “Hot Thing” contrasting the passionate baby-making ballads “Slow Love” and “Adore”, Prince’s reflections on the emotional aspect of his romantic relationships on “If I Was Your Girlfriend” and “Strange Relationship”. I could list off all of the tracks of Sign o’ the Times since they are all memorable and unique, but I feel I’ve waffled for long enough. An hour and 19 minutes of musical genius.
Darklands.
Going into my first Jesus and Mary Chain album I was expecting something reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless, a shoegaze record built on a a foundation of heavily distorted guitar. As it turns out, The Jesus and Mary Chain had distanced themselves from this sound after their debut Psychocandy, instead producing a much more melodic, accessible album in Darklands. The droning, distorted guitar still features but is far less overbearing, the sound could easily be likened to the Britpop artists that would follow in the coming decade. The largely upbeat instrumentation on Darklands belies the dark, depressed lyricism of William and Jim Reid; the title track makes reference to the nihilistic state-of-mind of the Reids and how they attempt to channel their depression and negativity into a form of creative expression, while tracks such as “Deep One Perfect Morning” and “Down on Me” continue the theme of depression and world-weariness with a more apathetic outlook. The final song “About You”, contrasting with the first nine tracks, rather than dragging you into the lonely depths of human despair from which the Reids wrote the album, they appeal to the listener that there is “something warm in everything”, an optimistic final attempt to condemn the cold bleakness of existence and to live knowing that “there’s something good about you”. Not what I expected but a bloody good alternative quasi-post-punk album that reflects on the darkest aspects of the human condition.
You’re Living All Over Me.
While Darklands was not shoegaze as expected, Dinosaur Jr.’s loud, grungey, distorted guitar noise found on You’re Living All Over Me more than make up for it; it’s no surprise Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine named this album as one of his influences. Commonly blasted in the intros and outros, then seemingly retreating during melodic verses, such as on “Little Fury Things”, J Mascis’ lead guitar drives the album, while his mysterious lyrics shroud the meaning of the tracks and demand repeated plays by the listener; as far as I can understand “Sludgefest” concerns a new, fragile relationship and “Raisins” tells of unreciprocated love and obsession, everything else is open to interpretation. The track “Poledo” is truly unique, in contrast to the other songs it begins with a minimalist acoustic guitar accompanying Mascis’ bare, creepy vocals, before progressing to the almost horrifying sound collages reminiscent of a tape recorder found in an abandoned asylum. The quiet-loud song structure Pixies would become renowned for is present on this album, “The Lung” for example, while The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” cover had Robert Smith swooning and even influenced them in how to play their own song in future performances. A groundbreaking record in the alternative music scene. Loud. Distorted. Disturbed. Mint.
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