The Orchids
title:: Lyceum, Unholy Soul, and Striving for the Lazy Perfection
label:: LTM
format:: CD
For cracking good pop you can't do much better than the Orchids. The
classic Sarah Records band has finally come back into the picture for
Act II. James Neiss's Les Temps Moderne (LTM) label just reissued all
of their old releases. It is so good to hear their songs on CD with
all of their non-album tracks in one place. The Orchids started in
Glasgow in the mid-eighties-- dire years for any kind of independent
pop. They were heavily influenced by other Scottish favorites like
Josef K, Orange Juice, the Go-Betweens, essentially the Postcard
Records stable of bands, as well as early Primal Scream. One
touchstone band for The Orchids was the Wake, which was on Factory
Records and later Sarah Records as well.
Their mini-album LYCEUM, here re-issued with early singles as bonus tracks-- including the songs from Bob Stanley's Caff label, is eight pitch-perfect songs of pure indiepop bliss. From the brilliant opening of "It's Only Obvious" with James Hackett's strident vocals to the ecstatic joy of "Caveman" with its oblique political references, and the genius chorus of "The York Song", this disc will put you in a happy mood. The bonus tracks available include the pure pop of "I've got a habit"-- with the line "I'm drinking Iron-Bru and I'm thinking of you", the song "Apologies" with its "Sha-la-la yeah" chorus, as well as an anti-poll tax song, "Defy the Law". This disc is a solid purchase for jangly indiepop lovers of all kinds.
Up next is UNHOLY SOUL + SINGLES, it sees the band experimenting more
with synthesizers and samplers on occasion, getting more into echoing
the finer points of Sixties pop. A few of the tracks also have the
soulful vocal talents of Pauline Hynds, this is the disc that has
"Peaches"-- with Pauline singing "Get yourself high, feed your soul,
set yourself free", one of the tracks that introduced me to the
Orchids as it also appears on the Sarah 100 compilation "There and
Back Again Lane". The Orchids are clearly moving towards a more
psychedelic sound, as the influence of Madchester tends to leak in on
UNHOLY SOUL. This is also evident on the wonderful paring of "The
Sadness of Sex (Pt 1)" with its dirty guitar and whistled chorus and
"Waiting for the Storm", the latter being a nearly 8 minute epic of
programmed beats and samples-- it nearly feels like Coldcut's remix of
Eric B and Rakim's "Paid in Full". This album oscillates between
jangly Sixties pop and electro pop that at first blush may seem
slightly incongruous but really works as a whole the more you listen to it.
Their final album was STRIVING FOR THE LAZY PERFECTION, released here
with their Thaumaturgy single plus some demo tracks. Their
experiments going forward and backward that came through in UNHOLY SOUL
are further magnified in this release. It opens with the noisy guitar
of "Obsession No. 1" and moves to the programmed bliss of "Striving
for the Lazy Perfection", finally nearing an end with the haunting
"I've got to wake up to tell you my dreams" then sliding into "the
Perfect Reprise" with its recollection of the earlier track. Pauline
Hynds also appears on this album to bring a feminine touch to a
handful of songs. This disc has its jangly songs like "The Searching"
and "Welcome to my Curious Heart" but it primarily leans toward
electronic pop. The classic track "A Kind of Eden" is here, which was
the Orchids' contribution to Elefant Records MONTECARLO compilation.
My favorite track on this disc has to be the pretty electro-pop of
"Avignon", which contains a sample that was also used on Acuarela
Records' mainstays Emak Bakia's second album "Despues". The electro
tracks on this disc also remind me of a pop-friendly Ultramarine.
Too many good songs are on each of these releases to do without one. LYCEUM provides a good introduction and will please any lover of good lo-fi pop, UNHOLY SOUL builds on the earlier template with more instrumentation and female vocals, STRIVING FOR THE LAZY PERFECTION further carries these experiments out to a heavenly conclusion. I've been told that the band has reformed and is currently working on new material. With a potential release in 2006, LTM's reissues provide the perfect refresher course for one of the most overlooked and consistently excellent indiepop bands out there.
---George Killgoar
- It's Only Obivious
- Place Called Home
- Caveman
- York Song
- Carrole-Anne
- Hold On
- Blue Light
- If You Can't Find Love
BONUS TRACKS - I've Got a Habit
- Apologies
- Give Me Some Pepperment Freedom
- Defy the Law
- Underneath the Window, Underneath the Sink
- Tiny Words
- Walter
- What Will We Do Next
- As Times Goes By
- Yawn
- Ill Wind That Blows
- All Those Things
- Me and the Black and White Dream
- Women Priests and Addicts
- Bringing You the Love
- Frank de Salvo
- Long Drawn Sunday Night
- Peaches
- Dirty Clothing
- Moon Lullaby
- Coloured Stone
- Sadness of Sex (Pt. 1)
- Wating for the Storm
- You Know I'm Fine
BONUS TRACKS - Bemused, Confused and Bedraggled
- Pelican Blonde
- Tropical Fishbowl
- How Does That Feel
- Sigh 4.44
- Something for the Longing
- Farewell, Dear Bonnie
- On a Sunday
Striving for the Lazy Perfection + Singles
- Obession No. 1
- Striving for the Lazy Perfection
- Searching
- Welcome to My Curious Heart
- Avignon
- Living Ken and Barbie
- Beautiful Liar
- Kind of Eden
- Prayers to St Jude
- Lovechild
- Give a Little Honey
- I've Got to Wake Up to Tell You My Dreams
- Perfect Reprise
BONUS TRACKS - Thaumaturgy
- I Was Just Dreaming
- Between Sleeping and Waking
- It's Ours
- Letter
