Felix NEill

It's immaterial are one of my favourite bands from the 80s. Emerging from the ashes of post punk favourites, The Yachts, their work really stands up. Even from this distance it still seems like they were ploughing a furrow entirely of their own, which to this day nobody else has really taken up and explored further.

This incarnation of "A Gigantic Raft" is the third time it appeared. Knowing that they were on to a good thing and simply waiting for the rest of us to catch up, this song had previously appeared as early as 1981 on the Inevitable label. It was subsequently included on a label sampler and re-released again in this form in 1984. The thing that makes this version the best, however, is the extended 12" "The Tempest" mix. Indeed, a salty, sea shanty vibe pervades the whole thing to a large extent.

Their first album, the brilliantly titled "Life's Hard And Then You Die" is a fantastic record and the follow-up, simple entitled "Song" is deeper and less tuneful, but somehow even better. I seriously urge you to consider delving into the back catalogue of this brilliant band.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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