PALE SAINTS レコード& CD

Review: 4AD turn back the clock to take a look at Pale Saints' breakthrough album, In Ribbons. Striking a note between the prevalent shoegaze of the era and 4ADs earlier ethereal sound, this is a record which absolutely conjures a specific moment in time and yet has aged very well. In the bittersweet pop nous of tracks like 'Thread Of Light' you can hear contemporaries like Lush, but equally Meriel Barham's vocal delivery reaches through time and lands with as much conviction now as it did back then. With a smart balance between bruising riffs and dreamy atmospherics, In Ribbons sounds in rude health on this remastered, commemorative edition and any shoegaze or early indie fan should be all over it.

Review: In the wave of shoegaze bands in the early 90s, Pale Saints aren't mentioned as much as they should be. It might be because their sound balanced the trademark wall of sound approach with a certain ethereal delicacy which aligned more with the likes of Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil. It's no wonder they were signed to 4AD and now the label are reissuing their second album In Ribbons 30 years after its original release. The record has lost none of its impact, navigating between noisy peaks and fragile troughs with grace and wrapped up in a pop nous which remains enchanting now, three decades later.

Review: Pale Saints' breakthrough album, In Ribbons, turns 30 years old this year and so the label that first put it out is looking back with this superb new anniversary edition. The album was a key driver in the shoegaze scene and became much loved for its ethereal sound. That has aged well here with bittersweet pop in tracks like 'Thread Of Light' as Meriel Barham's vocal delivery reaches through time and still hits the mark today. Musically the record blends bruising riffs and dreamy atmospherics and has been freshly remastered for this special commemorative CD edition which should appeal to fans old and new.

Review: Mrs Dolphin by Pale Saints has only previously been available on CD in Japan, but for Record Store Day this year, 4AD finally press it to wax for the first time. It gets a full treatment, too, on limited, marbled green vinyl. The album is a compilation of early singles from both the group's early period 4AD EPs (Barging Into The Presence Of God and Half-Life) as well as a track that was on a Melody Maker compilation, Gigantic! 2, in 1990. As well as that, 'Colours and Shapes' is a track included here that was until now unavailable on vinyl.

Review: Britain is on the very cusp of the post-Thatcher era, mistakes not necessarily learnt from the past 11 years, but certainly evidence mounting for the failure of individualism and the importance of communities. Change is needed, and change is what the next decade would bring. Some of which began with this album, unveiled in 1989, now regarded among the best shoegaze outings of all time. The label doesn't sit that well with us, though. There's just too much else happening with Pale Saints' pacy, expansive and utterly compelling debut. Post punk accents, eruptions into (and introductions based on) pure noise, and surrealist dream pop. Presented here in a new collector's edition, featuring recordings from the band's seminal John Peel session and demos, we couldn't think of a band so deserving of being discovered by a new generation, and re-celebrated by those who were there at the time.