I remember 1986 (16 years old) and getting the Born Sandy Devotional LP by The Triffids. Totally overwhelmed when listening to it, felt like having to walk that wide open road by myself, very alone, although still that little ray of hope. It was the start of my eternal love for the desolate, powerful, soulful, romantic and edgy melodies of David McComb and his band.
Next, almost suddenly, the death of David (1999). And it turned out that their beautiful works were so hard to find on CD. Found only Calenture. Until… 2006: the reissues of Born Sandy Devotional, Calenture, but also the wonderful shed recordings of In The Pines. Not only remastered, but also expanded, enhanced… improved. Thank you, Graham (Evil) Lee. It made me buy The Black Swan on iTunes.
And now, at last, this week, the reissue of The Black Swan and release of Beautiful Waste And Other Songs, the collected EP’s Raining Pleasure, Lawson Square Infirmary and Field Of Glass. The latter is their fierce and haunting Peel Session (I was forever unhappy that I didn’t buy it when I had the chance, but ‘forever’ has come to an end today).
All made with the greatest respect. And the music has not lost one single bit of its beauty. Everlasting is the word.
And even a… video was made, featuring artist Steve Keene, of the song Save What You Can (from Calenture):
