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lovejustforaday · 8 months

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Shoegaze Classics - The Comforts of Madness

The Comforts of Madness - Pale Saints (1990)

Main Genres - Shoegaze, Indie Pop, Dream Pop

A decent sampling of: Post-Punk, Jangle Pop, Neo-Psychedelia, Noise Pop

I've already discussed a lot of the bands that either formed during the second half of the first wave of shoegaze, and/or whose most noteworthy albums happened around that time (roughly 1992-1996).

So today I will be looking at one of the true OG shoegaze bands. These guys really don't get enough of the credit that they deserve for being one of the earliest bands to make the blueprint for that signature swirling world of guitars that would come to be known as shoegaze. Let's explore the amorous imagination of Pale Saints and their debut LP.

The Band

Yes, Pale Saints were one of the first true shoegaze bands, forming in Leeds in 1987 and having already begun making music in the early framework of the subgenre's sound as early as 1988, when they released their first EP of demos.

The main lineup of Pale Saints consisted of Ian Masters, the band's bassist and lead vocalist with his gentle, paper-thin high tenor voice, Graeme Naysmith who performed the band's signature gleaming lead guitar, and Chris Cooper on drums (oddly, that's the third "Chris" drummer for a band in this series so far).

There was also Meriel Barham on guitar and vocals, who joined shortly after the debut LP that I will be reviewing shortly. Fun fact: I learned while researching this that she was very briefly the lead vocalist for Lush in its early days, unimaginable as it might be to consider Lush as a band without the chemistry of Miki on lead and Emma doing the harmonies.

As one of the earliest shoegazing bands, you can hear a lot of influence in the music of Pale Saints from the subgenres of indie music that birthed the original scene, particularly on their debut record. There is a lot of jangly indie pop in their sound, hence more upbeat like their contemporaries Lush, as well as a lot of post-punk influence, especially in the drums.

But a big part of what set Pale Saints apart from other first wave bands was the general coziness of their sound. A lot of their melodies and timbres are personally reminiscent to me of small town life, early adolescent crushes, a cup of tea at your grandparents house, and just being a teenager watching clouds go by while sitting in the bleachers on your afternoon free period.

While other bands like Slowdive and Flying Saucer Attack were spacing out into the abyss, capturing intense feelings of longing, melancholy, and isolation, I would describe Pale Saints as having a very down-to-earth sound. And sometimes, though not always, that's all I want in my shoegaze. Just give me a nice melody and a hit of that sweet, sweet guitar textural euphoria.

I feel like Pale Saints legacy can be heard in a lot of 2010s shoegaze-adjacent bands like DIIV and Wild Nothing. More of the feel-good vibes, with a poppy mix of everything indie from the 80s and early 90s.

Pale Saints got their start by releasing a few EPs (I know, shocking) before dropping their debut record, They signed to the 4AD label along with many other dream pop and early shoegaze bands. Similar story in general to a lot of other bands that I've already covered, so I won't go into excruciating detail. Let's just get to the album.

The Record

The Comforts of Madness is a romantic record, in every sense of the word. Its sonic world is idyllic and full of soft-spoken love, expressed through sharp guitars playing tender melodies and creating clouds of dreamy pinks and baby blues. This is a record for you to just kick back and allow your mind to set sail into sweet bliss.

The production and mastering was handled by a small team including Gil Norton, Al Clay, Tim Davis, and John Fryer. Their work on this record is a lot 'airier' than most first wave shoegaze records. This gives the music a lot of of breathing room, which makes the vocals and wall of guitars A little more echo-y. I'm reminded a lot of the production and mastering on the Cocteau Twins' proto-dream pop sophomore record Head Over Heels.

The opening 2 tracks here are pretty straightforward post-punk. Actually, the whole side A is almost as much post-punk and jangle pop as it could be described as dream pop or shoegaze, whereas side B is much more confidently a traditional shoegaze record.

The album's first real taste of shoegaze comes in the form of "Sea of Sound", a redux of a song from the band's demo EP .

I will say this now: as a massive fan of Slowdive, I must acknowledge that this song was probably a huge influence on their early sound. I can't think of anything more proto-Slowdive than this song actually. The gradual guitar waves mixed with crashing, reverberated cymbals over the mid-slow tempo drums of this song can be heard all across Slowdive's first 3 EPs.

Sure, its a bit less sonically busy, and the guitar timbres are pretty different between a song like this and, say, "Morningrise", but I think its pretty safe to say that one way or another this track was formative to Slowdive. It's also, incidentally, a beautiful song, and Ian Masters has a perfect lullaby voice for this kind of track. Important piece of shoegazing history.

"Little Hammer" is a bit of a peculiar inclusion; an acoustic, waltzing indie pop ballad with sonic imagery that evokes a mysterious wandering caravan. Very soothing, nevertheless.

"A Deep Sleep For Steven" is warm and fuzzy shoegaze timbres injected directly to the veins, unlocking some kind of uncharted remote paradise island deep within the recesses of the listener's mind.

This is followed by "Language of Flowers", a jangly dream pop world of rainbows that would fit nicely in the catalogue of a C86 twee band like The Field Mice.

The band covers 4AD label mate Kendra Smith on "Fell From The Sun", taking the original's gently swaying, hypnotic slowcore psychedelia and turning it into a bouncy, earth-shaking kaleidoscope with beat changes and and an ending with a heavenly chorus of Ian's vocals layered a dozen times.

This bleeds into "Sight of You", the definitive best song on the record. This shoegaze pop gem features adorably woeful, melodramatic teenage love, and a series of flashbang-level brightened guitar riffs, echoing hundreds of times in a hall of auditory stained glass, all held together by an absolutely killer bassline. It's almost impossible not to smile from ear to ear while listening to this wondrously golden track. Sheer fucking pop excellence from start to finish.

Most of the tracks I've cared to mention are on the side B. Yes, I'd call it a back-loaded record, since most of the sugary shoegaze goodness happens on the back end, but this is still more than good enough to be one of the definitive standout records of first wave shoegaze. The Comforts of Madness is a true classic in my opinion.

What Came After That?

As I previously mentioned, Meriel joined the band shortly after the first record, and became an essential part of the bands sound from then on.

After that, Pale Saints only released two more records before the project eventually fell through.

The first of those records is 1992's In Ribbons, a more toned down and psychedelic record, which was a little more coherent with the lowkey atmosphere that would come to dominate the 'scene that celebrates itself' in the 90s. A lot of fans of the band hold the sophomore record in higher regard than the debut, but personally I see it as a noticeable step down in terms of songwriting from the gorgeous melodies that made The Comforts of Madness so memorable.

Some time after the second record, Ian departed from his own band after experiencing burnout with Pale Saints. This left Meriel to become the new face of the band for their last record Slow Buildings in 1994, an album of mostly mid-tempo dream pop songs that seems to divide the fanbase. I have not listened to it in full, but it definitely sounds like a different band to me.

Pale Saints disbanded a couple years later, with Meriel Barham's departure leaving the band with no lead vocalist. Meanwhile, Ian Masters had moved on to several other projects. The dude also moved to Japan in the 2000s, so there's that little tidbit.

Even though Pale Saints disbanded and has stopped putting out music for decades now, they are still one of the standout shoegaze bands to me, and one of the most important bands of that scene that directly and inadvertently influenced many others. You should definitely check them out if you haven't already.

9/10

Highlights: "Sight of You", "Sea of Sound", "A Deep Sleep for Steven", "Fell from the Sun", "Little Hammer", "Language of Flowers"

#album review #music review #list #indie rock #dream pop #shoegaze #indie pop #90s #Ian Masters #Chris Cooper #Graeme Naysmith #shoegaze classics #1990 #The Comforts of Madness #Pale Saints #Meriel Barham

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