pale saints guitar sound/tone

Stupid auto correct Pale...

The Comfort of Madness is their master piece. Might rank it

...above Giant Steps

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Comforts-Madness-30th-Anniversary-Remaster/dp/B07ZW8VWS5/

woo!

excellent, they could do with a comprehensive singles comp too

Such a great album. I was pretty disappointed with everything else that came after, it was probably down to the Hugh Jones production. He seemed to have a knack for softening the rough (interesting) edges of a lot of 4AD and 4AD-like bands (see also Heidi Berry, Ultra Vivid Scene, Kitchens of Distinction, Frazier Chorus) of that era.

Hugh Jones did In Ribbons too!
i've said my peace (piece?) re comforts of madness

That's what made me think of him! Just more a fan of the rough edges, I suppose. Not in general but def as far as the 4AD sound goes...

In Ribbons sounds pretty great right now. I thought it slightly tepid at the time, but like it a more with the passage of years. I marginally prefer "Babymaker" here, I think, though that EP might even be their high-water mark overall.

Speaking of which, I notice 4AD has recently uploaded this nauseating video at better resolution than I've seen it before. Bless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU39Gu4lX_0

demos sound pretty tight, like they'd been practicing them a while. and they have starts and ends, unlike the lp versions.

that second side, from language of flowers to the end, is still quite a rush.

nothing new-new though, no new songs. and i'd've liked the diamonds and porcupines version of Sight of You on there somewhere.

The Peel sessions are good to hear, too.

Is it me or is this running ink-jet missing cat notice reminiscent of something?

https://imgur.com/qO7EEdU

7.6 on Pitchfork today is the funniest thing they've done since 8.8 for Cosmo's Factory.

Because it's too high or too low?

Too low. For my money, they're both classics and should be in the high 9s (probably 10 for Cosmo's). I hate the whole rating system anyway, though, for exactly this reason - it puts a somewhat arbitrary number on a highly personal experience.

i heard the "Sight of You" last night for the first time in may, many years. it sounded so wonderful. i think it's time to listen to The Comforts of Madness again. love this band to death!

so i had to listen, this is one of the great albums, "Insubstantial" is blowing my mind all over again and remembering why this band was so good and criminally underrated.

i had such a good time listening to this album again. i know this band is all about the shoegaze guitar sound but the drummer they had is so good. it's under all the textures of the music but man is he great. such an amazing band and made my night after a fucked day.

What Can I Do?
What Can I say?
The World Was Large
And I felt Very Small

the reissue is pretty nice, the remaster sounds good... louder, but not brickwalled, works pretty well for their sound

Yep. I bought it and I must have listened to this album more times in the last couple of weeks than at any time since 1990. Love it. 'You Tear The World In Two' is my favourite. The second CD is interesting as the songs hadn't been completely worked out at that point so there are things that just seem 'wrong' (e.g. the riff that opens 'Insubstantial' isn't there, or the clanging guitar sound at the start of each verse of 'Time Thief' is just one note instead of two. Plus Ian Masters' vocals sound much weaker without the reverb and harmonies.

I will never get over how underrated in ribbons is, I really don’t understand it. It’s absolutely perfect. Please don’t say any mean things about it.

The Spoonfed Hybrid album sounding magnificent tonight. Grim but partly prompted by reading "Boys In Zinc".

So Ian's newest collaboration Isolated Gate has a full new album out and it's lovely!

https://isolatedgate.bandcamp.com/album/universe-in-reverse

Now that's an intense illustration

what's that, my favourite LP out on my birthday?

Pale Saints - In Ribbons 30th Anniversary Expanded Edition
4AD0407

Disc 1: In Ribbons UK Version
Disc 2: Unreleased Demos & Tintwistle Brass Band Covers

Out 6 October 🎀

〰️ https://t.co/8Ea46QtIKx pic.twitter.com/L2pPCHMrqu

— 4AD (@4AD_Official) August 30, 2023

Nice!

Bandcamp preorder link (Bandcamp Friday is about here!)

https://palesaints.bandcamp.com/album/in-ribbons-30th-anniversary-reissue

I think those Tintwistle Brass Band tracks came as a 7 inch with the album when it first came out, I know I had them

They very much did.

Per Discogs: "recorded at Claptons Club, Tinwistle, 23rd February 1992."

oh wow, so happy to see this!

Oh my God, In Ribbons got a 30th year reissue today!:

https://4ad.com/news/30/8/2023/inribbons30thanniversaryreissue

I should have polled it

now it will get on all the playlists and tv shows <3

These demos are pretty interesting. Always thought this record sounded a fraction too neat and laboured over. (But I always say that sort of thing lol. Not about to claim these are the definitive renditions or anything challopsy like that.)

Here is Ian Masters talking over lead vocals on "Kinky Love" (Demo):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmVi8JeFO5M

A 15 minute History clip with talk about In Ribbons at the 7:25 mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPWk2yOpCZk

Glad to now have three readily available versions of "Babymaker" to rotate through. I've seemingly needed to hear that in particular at least yearly since I was a schoolkid. No idea what Masters is getting at lyrically but it's a strangely moving/bracing/uplifting? ditty.

> now it will get on all the playlists and tv shows <3

iirc there were prominent posters in the radio station on Neighbours back in the day - mushroom had just signed a distribution deal with 4ad

very little proof of that is to be found on the internet, very hard to even find out the name of the radio station in neighbours, but discogs has scans of aus version of the sleeve and that has a liberation logo on it...

https://www.discogs.com/master/26780-Pale-Saints-In-Ribbons?country=Australia&image=5334152.SW1hZ2U6MTA5MzI0ODM%3D

hmv had copies (copy?) in the new releases when i was there this morning and a copy of Comforts in the rack.

my copy is still in the post 8(

my copy is here, my stereo is a pain to get to at the moment, but i made the effort today

it sounds, on the stereo, muddier than the original (usually heard using earphones). or is that just me?

now working through demos, nice to hear ian's stab at kinky love.

🎵Especially for Koogs...🎵

https://gcdnb.pbrd.co/images/4xPcKYif69LT.png

I wanna tell you, you mean all the world to me...

Ha! I hope many many Australians bought it as a result (subliminal or not)

I haven't got around to listening yet, need to rectify that

If we polled this, I would pick “haunted” in a heartbeat.

I remembered buying the "Haunted" EP thanks to the above doc I posted. I think I'm going to go ahead and poll, maybe even next week, Madness hope to get a few votes as I have no idea how it will do.

Certainly a contender for best 1992 album expanded/reissued in 2023.