Sad Lovers & Giants - Epic Garden Music

The pastoral Pink Floyd?

A fascination with the contemplative beauty of Sad Lovers & Giants’ early 80s recordings has fuelled prices for their first two elusive singles on Last Movement, Imagination and Colourless Dream. The Watford band have been compared to the atmospheric post-punk of, say, The Chameleons, Modern English or even Cocteau Twins, from the effects-laden guitars and eerie keyboards, but the tranquil melodies and vocal style might equally provoke the spirit of post-punk Liverpool (Bunnymen, Teardrops).

Epic Garden Music was their debut album from 1983 but, though it’s not spelt out, this CD follows the lead taken by an earlier version on Midnight Music by offering an album of two halves, kicking off with all of those coveted early singles. The album itself shifted slightly from their previous intimacy towards a more strident mix akin to Siouxsie & The Banshees or The Cure. Perhaps that allowed the group a greater reach, because Epic Garden Music sold well enough to trouble the indie charts. This lovingly assembled reissue includes some newly-written words from singer Garce, who remembers them being described as a “pastoral Pink Floyd”. Don’t let that put you off!

4 stars 4 stars 4 stars 4 stars

Cherry Red | CDMRED 384

Reviewed by John Reed
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