I’m used to being a bit late to the party when it comes to music releases, but finding my pen poised over a record made in 1994 is tardy even by my own oft-lax standards. This three-track, reissued ep is an intriguing prospect, not just from the point of view of the songwriting process but also as a reminder of exactly what the musical landscape was actually like back then.
Modern re-writers of music history would have us believe that the UK in 1994 was all homegrown Brit-pop and imported grunge, much as they would have you believe that the decade before was wall-to-wall Rick Astley and the ubiquitous wearing of shoulder pads and legwarmers.
But, the reality was that songs such as those found on Going Blind are neither the Brit-pop by numbers nor the lowest common denominator grunge that apparently dominated. They are, in fact, better than both, and better by miles. And so much so that all three songs could easily be the product of the current indie crop and the more accomplished end of it at that.
The title track opens things up with a neat blend of cascading guitars, raucous rock riffs, indie cool, and pop accessibility. But what set this apart in the past, and indeed, still does today, is the interplay of the boy/girl vocals, which lifts the songs from the usual laddish vibes of the indie scene.
And if “No One Comes (Close To You)” is full of drive and energy, walls of sound interspersed with scintillating guitar lines, “The Death of Venus” is a dark and delicious affair, a mixture of gothic bass grooves and spacious atmospheres.
Not many bands could have made an EP thirty years ago and, upon re-release, find that it still sounds as fresh and creative as it must have done back in the day. That’s why all good bands know to leave fads and fashion well alone, it only dates you.
Facebook
Spotify
YouTube
Instagram
