SPIRIT OF EDEN

It's the eighties and, as I can remember, everything from politics to music was noisy and LOUD.
Progressive music was at its lowest point in history, the few survivors from the carnage having to adapt to the new times and its ways. And then, out of a past of illustrious synthpop fame, comes this band with a jewel of an album replenished with music founded on delicacy and silence.
Yes, you've got it right, Silence!

Global Appraisal

Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene, the men behind this whole set, achieve to carve these intimate themes out of a block of silence, adding little-by-little fragile layers of exquisite instruments (mostly acoustic) and sound combinations.

The final result is a series of songs permeated with a feeling of frailty but at the same time extremely powerful in the expression of different flavors of sentiment; and so much so because of the haunting way the vocals are rendered.

The image that always comes to my mind while listening to this album is that of a colorful beautiful flower blossoming in the void of a deserted and barren vastness (go figure it out?).

Goodies

Sophistication yet (apparent) simplicity.

MH intense, emotional and immediately recognizable voice is the perfect vehicle for his lyrics.

The fabulous cover art is by James Marsh, a designer and illustrator of books, records and advertisements since the mid 1960s.

This record may be seen as a kind of prologue for what would come up next: three years later the final and truly work-of-art from the band would even more accentuate this minimalistic vein and, understandebly but sadly, be the last one to ever see the light of day.

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