Bite Back

 

Biting Tongues - Don't Heal [SITU 1 UK 1982 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC]

Biting Tongues were one the most misunderstood of Manchester's post-punk bands and probably, as a result one of the least successful. The bands original quirky punk-jazz overtones and poetic lyrical ramblings had a limited following and their first albums had a very small audience.

Listening to this work some forty years after their first recordings, you quickly pick up on the power and intensity of Biting Tongues music, and with a more discerning ear, you realise how important they should have been.

Early Tongues struck a post-Beefheart funk groove laid over with Ken Hollings poetic and manic meanderings.The first album, 1981's Don't Heal was recorded in two short sessions, played straight through without a break between tracks. Random tapes were left running throughout both sessions of warped jazz, their accidental intrusions incorporated into the final mix by producer, the late Stuart 'Jammer' James.

  The Dark Room Skin Transfers took place at Drone Studios in Chorlton in August 1980 and suffers from a very dry sound, thanks to a 1970s studio vogue for dead rooms as the walls were completely clad in denim. It was recorded and mixed in a single afternoon, with very few overdubs, though those with close hearing attention will notice the sounds of the Tardis during the opening few seconds.

The White Valise side recorded in January 1981 benefited from the more upmarket surrounds of Pennine Studios in Rochdale, even down to the noises made by the coffee machine in the hall, which can be heard at the start of Heart Disease. Don't Heal was the first album released on important British independent label Situation Two Records but sales were fairly modest and as a result few copies are in circulation. Some tracks have subsequently appeared on compilation CDs, but here at last in blogosphere is the whole vinyl experience in full 176.4kHz audio.

The White Valise

A1 Blue Traces

A2 Dog Face

A3 Heart Disease

A4 Or With Eyes Closed

Darkroom Skin Transfers

B1 Stabbing Soft Ice

B2 You Can Choke Like That

B3 Walkaway

B4 Coil

B5 R.R.O.R.

B6 Give Diamonds / You Can't