The Sound : From The Lions Mouth 1981

From the Lions Mouth  is the second studio album by English post-punk band The Sound, released in November 1981 on record label Korova. Following the release of their previous album Jeopardy, keyboardist Belinda "Bi" Marshall left the group and was replaced by Colvin "Max" Mayers. For their new album, The Sound worked with producer Hugh Jones, as well as co-producing the album themselves. The album's sound was more polished than previous efforts.

This album shows Adrian Borland, the singer/guitarist and primary songwriter, as a troubled man with hope.
The result is an album that, while dark, is also subtly uplifting. He explores the darker side of humanity while simultaneously enciting us to use our arms and our brains to find our own sense of purpose, and warns us of the new dark age impending if we don't. This album is lyrically and musically ahead of its time, and easily one of the best albums of the post-punk era. Get this lost classic while you still can.

NME compared the album's bleak nature to Joy Division's Closer. Sounds qualified the album as "gothic". Despite The Sound being posited as a gloomy band, AllMusic wrote, "snake-charming opener 'Winning' is From the Lions Mouth was well received by critics upon its release. Mike Nicholls of Record Mirror wrote,

Adrian Kelvin Borland (6 December 1957 – 26 April 1999) was an English singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer, best known as the lead singer of post-punk band The Sound (1979–87). Following a substantial solo career spanning five albums, he succumbed to the symptoms of schizoaffective disorder and committed suicide in April 1999.

Although it is unclear as to when Borland was diagnosed with his condition, from 1985 onward the symptoms of his depression became more and more apparent.His problems would manifest themselves in many of the songs on The Sound's final album, Thunder Up, as well as in the schizophrenic layout of the piece ; while the initial tracks deal with confronting issues (for example "Acceleration Group", "Barria Alta"), the second half proceeds at an entirely different tangent, becoming either tortuous ("Shot Up And Shut Down"), frenetic ("I Give You Pain") or mournful ("You've Got A Way"). The touring for Thunder Up culminated in disaster for the band when Borland left halfway through a set at Zoetermeer, Netherlands. It would be the last Sound gig



"The Sound seem set to take up where Joy Division left off and become the saviors of the adolescent grim brigade". Melody Maker's Steve Sutherland commented on the album's lighter, more commercial tone than that of Jeopardy, calling it "Jeopardy-as-palatable-product".
Like a dash of cold water in the faces of all the bands that were wallowing and withering away at the weeping well  The Sound were not mopes. They had their problems with life, but rather than just vent or escape from them, they confront them and ask questions and attempt to sort it all out.

The night of the 25th 1999 Borland slipped away to Wimbledon Station . In the early hours of the 26th horrified commuters watched as Borland committed suicide by throwing himself under a train . He was 41 years of age , and was interred at Morden Cemetery , London .

    Adrian Borland – vocals, guitar, production
    Michael Dudley – drums, percussion, production
    Graham Green – bass guitar, production
    Max Mayers – keyboards, production

 
TRAXS

01. Winnning   
02. Sense Of Purpose    
03. Contact The Fact    
04. Skeletons    
05. Judgement    
06. Fatal Flaw    
07. Possession    
08. The Fire    
09. Silent Air    
10. New Dark Age
11. Hot House

WINNING  LYRICS

What holds your hope together,
Make sure it's strong enough
When you reach the end of your tether
It's because it wasn't strong enough,
I was going to drown,
Then I started swimming
I was going down,
Then I started winning
Winning - winning

When you're on the bottom
Crawl back to the top
Something pulls you up,
and a voice you can't stop,
I was going to drown,
Then I started swimming,
I was going down
Then I started winning
Winning - winning.

NEW DARK AGE LYRICS

In the darkest times
Darkest fears are heard
And from the safest places
Come the bravest words
Some make a quiet life
To keep this
Scared old world at bay
The dogs are howling on the street outside
So they close the curtains, hope they go away
And it's pressure from all sides
Coming down around our ears
Stuck in this room without a door
Scratched away at the walls for years
All we've got to show is the dust on the floor
And here it comes, a new dark age


I catch your eyes
Before they fall to the ground
We're running out of time, breath and steam
We're running down
They're burning witches
Up on punishment hill
Dying proof in the power of autority
To exact it's will
And we've broken our fingers
Broken our faith
Broken our hearts so many times
They can't be broken anymore
Scratched away at the walls for years
All we've got to show is the dust on the floor
And here it comes, a new dark age
Here it comes.... A New dark age

The Sound  : Shock Of Daylight EP 1984 Here on this Blog


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