Sundays, The "Static & Silence" CD (1997)

Details: The Sundays, "Static & Silence" released on CD, Club Edition, 1997. CD insert shows edge wear on insert near opening/edges. Includes an 8-page insert with lyrics and a back cover inlay. Track 11 is not on the UK/European version.

Description: "Things happened very fast for the Sundays and then they happened very slowly. The Alterna-pop quartet won rave reviews in the British press at their first-ever gig in 1988; their debut single topped the British independent charts in 1989; both the band's 1990 debut album, "Reading, Writing and Arithmetic," and the 1992 follow-up, "Blind," went gold and led to worldwide tours. Singer-songwriter Harriet Wheeler and guitarist-songwriter David Gavurin then disappeared for four years, had a baby together, and built their own recording studio. It was there they wrote and produced their new third album, "Static & Silence," which focuses their pop charms more clearly than ever.

Because the Sundays prefer dreamy tempos and ethereal soundscapes, there's a temptation to lump them in with such "moody-pop" bands as the Cocteau Twins and the Smiths, but pop pleasures overwhelm moody affectations on "Static & Silence." Gavurin writes simple but beguiling vocal melodies and frames them with chiming guitar figures which suggest an atmosphere of unguarded innocence. Wheeler's soprano may be slight but it has emotional transparency that makes her confessions of a new crush or a fresh heartache irresistibly personal. Backed by their original rhythm section and, on some numbers, by lush orchestrations, Gavurin and Wheeler are able to capture the giddiness of new love in the "Summertime," the mixed feelings of leaving one's hometown behind, the heart pangs that come "When I'm Thinking About You" and the remembered childhood excitement of watching the first moon landing."

Grade: VG (Insert/Cover) / VG+ (CD)

CD TRACK LISTING:

1. Summertime
2. Homeward
3. Folk Song
4. She
5. When I'm Thinking About You
6. I Can't Wait
7. Cry
8. Another Flavour
9. Leave This City
10. Your Eyes
11. So Much
12. Monochrome