Scotland seem to be on a bit of a roll at the moment – this is another indie-ish Scottish group to appear on the list. They’re not quite like any other New Wave style groups around in the early Eighties, but also sound very much like that’s where they belong. There’s maybe a bit of Echo And The Bunnymen in there, but for me the mood felt most like the very sparse feel of Peter Gabriel 3 and 4, with the prevailing mood of Skip Spence’s Oar.
The similarity to Gabriel struck me most on the track From Rags To Riches where vocalist Paul Buchanan sings the lyric “into the water” in a way that really sounded like Gabriel, perhaps on San Jacinto or a track like that. Buchanan’s voice has a bit of a strained quality to it, but on Easter Parade, which is basically him and a piano he gives a mournful and affecting performance.
The sense of melancholy that suffuses the album is enhanced by percussive noises and little grace notes. Nigel Thomas is credited with drums, but all three core members of the band – Buchanan, bassist Robert Bell and keyboardist Paul Joseph Moore are also credited with “synthesiser” so it’s not clear if, for example, the industrial clashes on Automobile Noise are real or synthesised. The title track I Walk Across The Rooftops features discordant strings, and later piano and trumpet that, with the thumping New Wave drums create a sense of unease that lasts for the album.
This is one I ended up listening to twice because I only made the most sparse of notes the first time through, and after that I think it needs multiple listens to truly appreciate. It’s difficult; there are no boppy tunes and ear-worms on here to hook you in. But then difficult is usually worth making the effort.
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