These Mortal Clogs

 

Clan Of Xymox - Medusa [CAD 613 UK 1986 24-Bit FLAC]

I find it remarkable that the 'new' owners of 4AD Records have failed to repress many of the great albums from the label's best period. Whilst Clan Of Xymox may not have benefitted from the same size of following as The Cocteau Twins, there has been significant interest in the original line-up's darker wave releases, especially in Europe. Consequently, both this album and their more upbeat debut still sit comfortably among the label's more important releases, and when you remember they secured a major deal with Polydor following their stint on the iconic British label.

The problem with Clan Of Xymox is that they wanted to be a 4AD band and deliberately shaped their sound to be what they thought a 4AD band should sound like. The dark electro sound they found for their debut was spot on however then they thought best to sound like an amalgamation of all the other artists on the label, tempering their energy accordingly. That unfortunately makes Medusa a pleasant yet moody and somewhat unremarkable album when really it could have been a great album. Lots of lush strings can be good (and believe me there are a lot of string sounds on Medusa) and one track, the instrumental Lorrentine stands out in particular. Louise will always be regarded as classic Xymox as acoustic guitars strum over electro beats and brooding choral synths, I think this rip brings so much more to the listeners attention than the compact disc version which also sits in my collection.

This is a 176.4kHz rip of Medusa from my original copy, the packaging is as lush as those synthstrings in another splendid 23 Envelope sleeve. The vinyl remains in excellent condition, likely saved by over thirty years of compact disc listening.

This is a band who bowed their heads and felt it necessary to be gazing earthwards, when really they should have kept their heads up and remained true to their origins doing what they did best. Many will really love this record, I am not slamming it, I am just saying it could have been much much better. 

A1 Theme I

A2 Medusa

A3 Michelle

A4 Theme II

A5 Louise

A6 Lorretine

B7 Agonised By Love

B8 Masquerade

B9 After The Call

B10 Back Door