Description
Much has been written about Young Marble Giants perfect catalogue. Stuart Moxhams next project, The Gist, chopped YMGs minimalism into a new shapes. This Is Love, Public Girls and Fool For A Valentine maintained the geometric precision of YMG, but the albums fragmented pieces were a step too far for many, though the strangest of them, Carnival Headache, was clearly as fine a song as any hed written and Love At First Sight became a million-seller in France as covered by Etienne Daho. And now The Devil Laughs is a compelling addition to the canon of the modern songwriting. Stuarts generally unadorned musical presentation does not hinder his appreciation for the skills of Louis Philippe, whose iconic arrangements across an array of …l label albums inspire fierce devotion from aficionados around the world. Nor does the unvarnished solidity of Stuarts arrangements deter Louis from hearing possibilities for their presentation in styles which take inspiration from the perfection of 1960s studio technology that led to the rise of Brian Wilson, Burt Bacharach, Bones Howe and Roy Halee. Tidy Away is Young Marble Giants redux, though the backing vocals hint at maturity which band didnt live to see. Fighting To Lose would have been a worthy b-side to Bridge Over Troubled Water, and Louis fans will delight at Love Hangover and Sky Over Water, which display his style and production genius as succinctly as his own work. The Devil Laughs is as out of its time as Colossal Youth was - its subtle but immediate beauty, devoid of rock, is a recording best understood in the light of those obscure groundbreakers who inspired it - Smile-era Beach Boys, Tom Wilsons work with Simon & Garfunkel, a dash of The Swingle Sisters and French chanson - along with hints of Young Marble Giants.
1. Tidy Away
2. Day Must Come
3. It Goes Like This / Love Hangover
4. The Devil Laughs
5. Sky Over Water
6. Fighting To Lose
7. Untitled #2
8. Come To Me Nancy
9. Head In A Song
10. Singing Out
11. Tidy Away (Reprise)
- Internal ID: JITRE
- Format Detail: LP
- Handling Note: **Please allow an additional 72 hours for this item's shipment.**
- Format: Vinyl
- Genre: Rock
- Released: 2/9/24