The Triffids formed in Perth, Australia in 1980, led by vocalist and song writer David McComb. Across the 80s they released several albums, beginning with
Treeless Plain and ending with their final release,
Black Swan in 1989.
This review concerns their 1985 album, the strangely titled
Born Sandy Devotional. Taking the folk by way of the Velvet Underground sound that they had harnessed on earlier albums, on
Born Sandy Devotional the Triffids give it a big melodic sheen without losing any of their melancholy to 80s pop technology.
Recorded in London this was the band’s biggest moment, even getting them on the cover of the NME. But there’s little of the noise and thunder of London or indeed any city to be found within the songs of
Born Sandy Devotional.
Seabirds,
Esturary Bed,
Lonely Stretch and
Wide Open Space are just examples of how the titles alone conjure up images of Australia’s immense out back and rugged coastline. Reissued now in 2006 by Domino, the album’s original ten tracks are augmented by some b-sides and demos.
Seabirds opens the album, a sighing slice of expansive melancholic pop that seems to shake with a feverish confusion and loss, yet the song swells sweetly on keyboard trills, bombastic drums and some killer guitar licks.
Estuary Bed follows, a more countrified number with a sighing chorus and some smart haunting wordplay concerning rivers and sleep.
The Chicken Killer is the most rock number on here, with a rattling bop to rival Dylan and his most electric, complete with a glistening pounding chorus.
After these three straight up cuts comes some creepy strangeness,
Tarrilup Bridge is a story of suicide set to eerie noir lounge music, lovingly sung by the band’s bassist Jill Birt.
Lonely Stretch is equally as unsettling, the instrumental backing to Davis McComb rippling and twisting almost like a rural Killing Joke, the whole song has a definite out-there vibe.
Coming back down to earth as it were,
Wide Open Road is the album’s centrepiece, the intro is maybe reminiscent of Simple Minds, but the song soon becomes a keening hymn for the open country, all its roads and hills and rambling tracks. A truly standout moment on a great album.
Next up is
Life Of Crime a more pedestrian but still a memorable bluesy romp, built around more subtle instrumental wise that most of
Born Sandy Devotional. Weirdly McComb sounds like Danzig on this number.
Personal Things sounds like Pulp, Pulp if it was a bunch of angry outback cowboys and not English dandies, complete with brisk drums and sighing keyboard, along with
Life Of Crime it pales compared to the rest on offer.
Thankfully the last two songs match the earlier excellence,
Stolen Property is a moody number that nearly hits the seven minute mark, David McComb’s earthy vocals carrying you along over some burbling and shuddering music.
Tender Is The Night finally offers a up a cut to rival the earlier conventional melodic material, a gorgeous strummed duet between Birt and McComb that ends the original album on a memorable and hopeful note.
The added tracks are for devotees only, the b-sides, including the actual title track are the equal of the album’s lesser tracks whilst some minimalist vocal demos are effective more as spoken word pieces rather than pieces of music.
All in all
Born Sandy Devotional is a great album by a great band, rivalling even early REM for rustic spooky music.
Born Sandy Devotional is out on the 19th of June via Domino Records.
http://www.dominorecordco.com/triffids
Next time on Rear View Mirror, the authors of Free Bird.
