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I first encountered Sheffield band Artery way back in the early 80s when I sent off for a free cassette mentioned in the UK music press. Although intrigued, maybe at that point in my teenage life I just wasn’t quite ready for Artery. Fast forward twenty seven years and I’m browsing in a local music store and do a double take when I see two copies of the reformed Artery’s new album, Civilisation in a prominent position on the new release rack. No disrespect to Artery but this seems touchingly optimistic as I could be wrong but I’m not sure demand in Bristol will be high, but hey I bought one so maybe their strategy was right.
After sampling online, I was back the next day with my £10 in hand. The perfect combination of old style music retailing and online convenience…
I only just held out for 24 hours because the intensity of Civilisation pretty much bowls you over from the first exposure.
Who would have guessed the return of bands like Artery would produce such riches? Maybe it’s a case of unfinished business coupled with having nothing left to lose, no worries about record companies and shifting units to water down the music.
The result is an album that pulls off the easier said than done trick of balancing melody with dissonance and topping it off with some lacerating intensity and sheer menace.
Just check out Unfaithful Girlfriend for a first taste, synths used in a way that recalls post punk greats The Sound, colouring rather than swamping, creeping, insistent bass, coruscating guitar and Mark Gouldthorpe’s gripping vocals, “There are squares and there are circles, there are shapes you can’t conceive…” Beautiful stuff.
If that doesn’t do it for you (it will though) try the title track, a pure monster recalling Gang of Four and Killing Joke in unhinged but precisely focussed power, the litany of images of a world perched somewhere between chaos and banality should knock any post punk connoissieur sideways.
If you’ve never encountered Artery before, hopefully I’ve saved you a twenty seven year wait, I’m off to pick up the back catalogue…finally.
