CD: CDRED412
RELEASED: 2010
LABEL: Cherry Red

01. Ours To Kill *
02. White Russians
03. Take Seven
04. Seven Kinds Of Sin *
05. The Green Years
06. A Map Of My World *
07. The Outsider
08. Cuckooland
09. Return To Clocktower Lodge
10. Wire Lawn
11. House Of Clouds
12. Summer And Smoke
13. Life Under Glass

2010 expanded reissue of this classic '80s release. Sad Lovers & Giants are a rock band from Watford, England who formed in 1981. Their sound blends post-punk, atmospheric keyboards and psychedelia and the band has been described as "a pastoral Pink Floyd". The original lineup produced two studio albums, "Epic Garden Music" and "Feeding the Flame", before splitting in 1983. During this initial period they recorded a John Peel Session for the BBC and a live concert for the Dutch Radio Hilversum station, which was subsequently released as the album "Total Sound". Live performances included headline dates at UK colleges and clubs with occasional trips to Europe, although they did support The Sound at a major London venue on the day "Epic Garden Music" entered the UK independent charts. European interest in the band began to grow, and with the release of second album "Feeding the Flame", they toured Germany and Holland, gaining a dedicated fanbase on the European mainland. Tensions within the band caused a complete disintegration, however, with Garel-Funk and Pollard leaving to form The Snake Corps. They returned in 1986 with an updated lineup and a new album entitled "The Mirror Test". Although stylistically similar to the original lineup, the dark edginess of songs like "In Flux" had, to a certain extent, been replaced by more melodic songwriting. As interest abroad grew, the band performed extensively in Holland, Spain and France, headlined at the old Marquee club in London's Soho, and with the release of their fourth album, Headland, were a featured band in Melody Maker. "The Mirror Test" is a brilliant atmospheric post punk album, elements of Joy Division and The Chameleons and more tellingly of bands that followed. This reissue contains the nine tracks found on the "Mirror Test" LP version, plus 4 bonus tracks: "Ours To Kill" & "The Outsider" (from the "Seven Kinds of Sin" 12-inch) and "Life Under Glass" & "A Map of My World" (from the "White Russians" 12-inch).

Influences / Similar Artists:
The Chameleons, Cocteau Twins, Marc Lewis, The Search, For Against