January 15, 1998
All too rarely, I stumble across an album that blindsides me out of nowhere to become a treasured favorite. Such epiphanies are the reason I listen to music, and The Raincoats is such an album. Why didn't anyone tell me about this band sooner?
The Raincoats were one of the first all-female post-punk bands, preceded only by The Slits. Relatively unskilled musically when they began recording, they created a masterpiece through sheer determination and raw passion on this, their debut. Defiantly anti-commercial, their sound is the most engaging and inventive I've heard in ages. The 'Coats blend jittery post-punk rhythms punctuated with John Cale-inspired violin shrieks, swift tempo changes and obtuse, intriguing songwriting. Wildly experimental, their sound is also incredibly warm and approachable due to their sing-song vocals and deceptively simple melodies.
There are layers upon layers here. Palmolive (formerly of The Slits) has a haphazard percussion style that sounds like Moe Tucker on amphetamines, bassist Gina Birch plucks furiously and Vicky Aspinall's guitar is trebly and cutting; all this is fronted by Ana De Silva's charming, naïve and bold vocals. The closest I can get to their confrontational yet engaging sound is The Velvet Underground's debut, or The Pixies' Sufer Rosa.
Neither of those two quite get it, though - The Raincoats are less angry, more untutored, but no less passionate. They sound quite unlike anyone else. "No Side To Fall In" has lovely a capella harmonies, "Adventures Close To Home" is a fascinating, intelligent breakup song with a cracking bass line, and "Off Duty Trip" is a tense, twitching rave against sailors trolling for prostitutes. There are blindingly original love songs like "Black and White" and "You're A Million" that cut to the contradictions of any relationship, and a subtly hilarious take on The Kink's "Lola".
The crown, however, is "No Looking". A poem by Jacques Prevert set to a haunting beat, it builds in tempo and emotion to a shivering climax while declaiming a broken relationship with the dry, detached power of a Raymond Carver story. Complex, brilliant work. Warm and human, dissonant and lovely, this is a document of incredible human presence and emotional power. Buy it today.
- Jared O'Connor
The greatest unknown
album of all time