CD: WE835
RELEASED: 1983
LABEL: Warner

01. Oblivious
02. The Boy Wonders
03. Walk Out To Winter
04. The Bugle Sounds Again
05. We Could Send Letters
06. Pillar To Post
07. Release
08. Lost Outside The Tunnel
09. Back On Board
10. Down The Dip
11. Haywire
12. Orchid Girl
13. Queen's Tatoos

Scotland, early eighties. The semi-cult Postcard label was defining a sound with its principal acts, Orange Juice and Aztec Camera. High Land, Hard Rain, the debut album by Aztec Camera, is the kind of pop record you were afraid they didn't make anymore. The album is radical not only in its musical restraint but in its arrogant rejection of fashion. There's three classic cuts here without even playing the record. The haunting 'We Could Send Letters', the superb 'Pillar To Post' and the stylish 'Oblivious'. Just for those this album is worth its weight in gold. They could have easily filled the rest up with mediocre lullabies, but there's not a duff track to be heard. The thing that makes Aztec Camera so essential is that although they cover ground of a very personal nature they always have enough in store to pack a mighty punch. Roddy Frame's vocals can at times meander, lulling the listener into a false sense of security, but with a flick of his quiff he can spit out a line which is so straight to the point that you've just got to sit up and take notice.With cynicism the dominant passion of pop in the 80's this is one hard rain that refreshes.

Influences / Similar Artists:
Wild Swans, Orange Juice, Pale Fountains , Ocean Blue