The Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus are a psychedelic neofolk collective from Liverpool, England, formed in 1985. Named after a terrorist group from Spanish director Luis Buñuel's 1977 film, That Obscure Object of Desire, the band were founded by Jon Egan (vocals/guitar/harmonium), David Seddon (keyboards/tenor saxophone), Paul Boyce (vocals/keyboard/clarinet), Sue Boyce (vocals/flute) and Leslie Hampson (vocals/percussion/guitar).

A more aesthetically tenebrous proposition than the Trees Community before them, the Revolutionary Army's Christian mysticism informs their ethereal, genre-blurring sacred music, mixing kraut-folk, tribal ambient, darkwave and neoclassical approaches. Their album imagery and lyrics are inspired by Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions and sung in English, French, Latin, Greek and Russian. The collective's music is also littered with field recordings and samples taken from Spanish poets, records of eastern European propaganda broadcasts and excerpts from European surrealist films by Jean Cocteau and Andrei Tarkovsky. The Revolutionary Army have received a variety of comparisons to the mystical folk of Dead Can Dance, Woven Hand and Current 93 to composers Henryk Górecki, Ennio Morricone, Gavin Bryars and Arvo Pärt, as well as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Popol Vuh, Pink Floyd and late-era Talk Talk. The collective are animated by the decline of spirituality with the rise of secular capitalism while also explicitly distancing themselves from the right-wing and fascistic elements of the neofolk genre.

Supported by an ever-changing cast of guest musicians, the collective earned their cult following through their two acclaimed LPs, 1987's The Gift of Tears and 1991's Mirrors, the latter of which featuring the alto saxophone textures of organist Bill Dawson. The Revolutionary Army followed up Mirror with two EPs, 1993's La Liturgie pour la fin du Temps and 1995's Paradis before entering a prolonged hiatus. After nearly twenty years of dormancy, the French label Infrastition invited the collective to have their discography re-released, and a retrospective box set, After the End, followed in 2013. Riding the momentum of the renewed interest in their work, the collective issued their third album, Beauty Will Save the World, in 2015, with the Revolutionary Army now reduced to its core members Egan, Hampson and Paul Boyce and a new array of session players. 2020 saw the release of sister albums Songs of Yearning and Nocturnes.

"The Gift of Tears" (1987)

https://revolutionaryarmyoftheinfantjesus.bandcamp.com/album/the-gift-of-tears" rel="nofollow - https://revolutionaryarmyoftheinfantjesus.bandcamp.com/album/the-gift-of-tears

"Mirror" (1991)

https://revolutionaryarmyoftheinfantjesus.bandcamp.com/album/mirror" rel="nofollow - https://revolutionaryarmyoftheinfantjesus.bandcamp.com/album/mirror

"Beauty Will Save the World" (2015)

https://revolutionaryarmyoftheinfantjesus.bandcamp.com/album/beauty-will-save-the-world" rel="nofollow - https://revolutionaryarmyoftheinfantjesus.bandcamp.com/album/beauty-will-save-the-world

"Songs of Yearning" (2020)

https://revolutionaryarmyoftheinfantjesus.bandcamp.com/album/songs-of-yearning" rel="nofollow - https://revolutionaryarmyoftheinfantjesus.bandcamp.com/album/songs-of-yearning

"Nocturnes" (2020)

https://revolutionaryarmyoftheinfantjesus.bandcamp.com/album/nocturnes" rel="nofollow - https://revolutionaryarmyoftheinfantjesus.bandcamp.com/album/nocturnes

https://theprogressiveaspect.net/blog/2020/06/30/revolutionary-army-of-the-infant-jesus-songs-of-yearning-nocturnes/" rel="nofollow - https://theprogressiveaspect.net/blog/2020/06/30/revolutionary-army-of-the-infant-jesus-songs-of-yearning-nocturnes/

...and in Prog magazine:

https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/revolutionary-army-of-the-infant-jesus-mirror-album-review" rel="nofollow - https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/revolutionary-army-of-the-infant-jesus-mirror-album-review

I'm glad to hear; I was considering assigning them to RIO/Avant (a la Księżyc) before settling on PF. I think I like Mirror the most, along with a smattering of tracks from their reunion years (they definitely connect with me more than Dead Can Dance, whom I wish I liked more).

Hugues and Ken: any thoughts?

Awesome. I think I still hold Mirror in high regard though their new work is certainly more mature and consistent in its approach (and their version of "Ave Maria" is hands down the best thing they've done). So yeah, curious to hear what Hugues thinks.

(though I do have the impression that I had started to look into it)

I'm sure the band would find that apropos!

TBH, it's not a straight Prog Folk inclusion again we're being proposed here.

This project is again a bit more darkwave/gothic like DCD is (and since DCD is in PF)

I don't here much "folk" in there. It(s one of the elements for sure but hardly a main ingredient of the soup, especially on Mirrors.

kenethlevine wrote: Initial thoughts from listening to "Mirror" were not positive as far as hearing the folk but I hear more of it in "Songs of Yearning".  I'll try a bit more tomorrow

Their early albums are not convincing me for PF inclusion, but the latter two definitely more so: especially Nocturnes - but Yearning a tad less so.

I'd say a weak yes for PF, but I'd be more tempted to say that if this was presented to RIO/Avant (or another genre solution) and they accepted it, I would feel better about them being in PA under that umbrella than ours.

So right now it's Ken with a Yes and Hugues with, shall we say, half a green sphere. Should we toss this to ZART or does the PF team feel comfortable going ahead with the Army?

I've notified the team.

On the plus side, at least this time it appears if they are bounced back they will be accepted by prog folk. Poor old Nature and Organisation ended up in Prog Related, when they should have been a shoo-in for Prog Folk… 🙄

OK, I feel like the bad guy here with everyone aligning against me

I accept other people's informed advised opinion and will say yes for PF without any further adue.

no need to undertake a RIO investigation.

Sorry if you felt my post was a personal attack. It wasn’t meant that way. It’s the nature of PA, that over time, different teams will comprise different people, who have different ideas of where the boundaries for their genre lie. This is compounded by the way genres evolve over time. I think this is something Pedro is especially attuned to, because it is really very difficult to view anything in comparison to anything else at a different point in time. Everything needs to be looked at contemporaneously, and for what it is/was at the time it is/was - rather than against some somewhat arbitrary historic example.

What is fairly universally considered prog folk in the UK these days does not particularly match what is considered prog folk on PA. That’s not the fault of any of the team, necessarily, if they are not geographically aligned with this particular branch of neo-folk.

It’s not just prog folk either. There are several UK prog bands that have not been considered prog enough for PA, despite being pretty much universally considered prog within the UK, regularly appearing in the pages of Prog magazine, and in the line-ups of UK prog festivals.

The same can be said for what is considered prog in Aotearoa, and probably most countries of the world. Prog has differing boundaries and definitions depending on which country it is talked about. PA will always have a tough job, because it is trying to take a global view, that will not always match localised ones.

not at all taken as such - see my emoticons-smileys

nick_h_nz wrote: It’s the nature of PA, that over time, different teams will comprise different people, who have different ideas of where the boundaries for their genre lie. This is compounded by the way genres evolve over time. I think this is something Pedro is especially attuned to, because it is really very difficult to view anything in comparison to anything else at a different point in time. Everything needs to be looked at contemporaneously, and for what it is/was at the time it is/was - rather than against some somewhat arbitrary historic example. What is fairly universally considered prog folk in the UK these days does not particularly match what is considered prog folk on PA. That’s not the fault of any of the team, necessarily, if they are not geographically aligned with this particular branch of neo-folk.

Yeah, I guess PA has rewritten the history - just like the whole medium has... and since unconventional artistes don't want to be piegonholed and blurring the genre lines (not even intentionally so), it becomes increasingly difficult to work with our outdated and strict system.

But in the meantime, I'll add the group to prog folk some time today 

Great to hear, Ken. And I'm glad so many people have enjoyed this group. As much as I wish the Nature and Organisation debate hadn't been so convoluted, I'm just happy they're here and represented on PA, even if I agree PF was the most logical and better fit. I certainly don't blame the mods for planning to toss RAIJ around as they're definitely not clear cut and I knew that while positing the suggestion.

And I turned 35 a month ago; to quote a progressive (but not prog) folkie, "If you want me, honey baby I'll be here." 

Gordy, Hugues and I have discussed the possibility of approaching you to join the group as a collaborator.  Certainly your neo folk knowledge has been very helpful.  I've long thought that many neo folk groups qualify as prog but I lacked a lot of exposure beyong some of the big names and a few like Ostara that we briefly considered.  Your references in the well written bios suggest a wider knowledge of prog and prog folk but just checking that you are generally open to classic prog folk which, believe it or not, we still add on occasion, as well as modern prog and folk outside of the wyrd and neo scenes.   I'll let Hugues chime in as well

Thanks for the kind words and the addition. It would be an honour and privilege if you decide to take me on. I've become quite the folk lover over the past fifteen years, appreciating the likes of both Fairport Convention and the Pentangle and more modern groups like the Angels of Light and Larkin Grimm (but I could never get into Jethro Tull, funny enough!). 

I actually only started listening to neofolk fairly recently due to my personal reticence regarding Death in June's long reactionary shadow that hangs over the genre (now it's my primary guilty pleasure - move over, Coldplay! - and I remain a devoted Trotskyist). I'd love to have a deeper discussion over PM about your take on neofolk and which bands you think fit the prog/acid/psych folk categories as there's a lot I could learn from you.

Yup, after some 18 years on board (16 as a PF member - though I'm more of a JR/F dude) , some fresh cannon flesh will be welcome .

kenethlevine wrote: Gordy, Hugues and I have discussed the possibility of approaching you to join the group as a collaborator.  Certainly your neo folk knowledge has been very helpful.  I've long thought that many neo folk groups qualify as prog but I lacked a lot of exposure beyong some of the big names and a few like Ostara that we briefly considered.  Your references in the well written bios suggest a wider knowledge of prog and prog folk but just checking that you are generally open to classic prog folk which, believe it or not, we still add on occasion, as well as modern prog and folk outside of the wyrd and neo scenes.   I'll let Hugues chime in as well

TBH, I did take enjoyment in discovering much of these neo-folk (or Wyrd - for "weird" - Folk scene acts) , but not all of them were fit to be here. Devendra, Newsom, Jos Foster & the likes were quite a challenge to assess.

But then again, despite being +/- aware of stuff like Current 93 or Nurses With Wounds and all of that current (what I call "darkwave"),  I was never able get into "that stuff"

Agreed, I've been watching from the sidelines quietly rooting for Gordy.

May the madness begin  !!

Y'all are so kind and sweet - seriously, I'm supremely touched! Thank you for making me part of a project that has enriched my life and expanded my musical horizons in such a formative way over the years. I look forward to working with you.