One of England's leading goth bands of the 1980s, the Sisters of Mercy
play a slow, gloomy, ponderous hybrid of metal and psychedelia, often
incorporating dance beats; the one constant in the band's career has
been deep-voiced singer Andrew Eldritch.
Steve Huey
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-sisters-of-mercy-mn0000012809/biography
Evergreen goth dancefloor killer. " Alice " is the Sister's best known song , also their best executed one.
http://www.discogs.com/Sisters-Of-Mercy-Alice/release/264418
Sisters of Mercy, along with The Mission, are among the first bands that
people think of when the ‘G’ word comes up; this has as a lot to do
with their command of goth imagery, which quickly led to them becoming
one of the most visible goth “brands” (I can only imagine how much SoM
merchandise has been sold over the past thirty years). Though the
majority of their recorded output is wretched, in their early years SoM
were pretty compelling, combining the primality of metal with the
polysexual pulsation of what would come to be known as EBM; their finest
creation in this vein was the dark-wave floor-filler ‘Alice’.
Kiran Sande
http://www.factmag.com/2010/11/02/20-best-goth/
To fully appreciate The Sisters of Mercy’s impact, it’s important to
consider the worth of the single release. In terms of pop culture and in
an age of downloads and a la carte music consumption, the worth of the
single has plummeted in much the same way the value of sterling has
fallen against the dollar. Back in 1982, when 'Body Electric' crawled
fully formed from the darkest recesses of Yorkshire, the independent
single was as much a communiqué and statement of intent as it was a
little object of desire that involuntarily caused your feet and hips –
and especially in the case of The Sisters, the elbows - to move. Held
within the grooves and the three-to-five minute running time,
independent singles were arguably a more self-contained universe that
reflected the times, sartorial mores, politics and culture of the time
than their major label peers ever could. But The Sisters of Mercy did
more than that. In the space of their six independent releases, the band
shaped fashion, sound and language in an image entirely of their own
making with scant regard for approval from the wider world.
Indeed, it’s with their third single, 'Alice', where The Sisters of Mercy finally hit their stride. Opening with Doktor Avalanche’s idiosyncratic beats – beats that were to
become as instantly recognisable as John Bonham’s intro to Led
Zeppelin’s 'Rock ’n’ Roll' – the track gives way to beautifully twisting
guitars and Adams’ driving, droning and single-minded bass playing. The
flipside, 'Floorshow', was every bit the equal of the parent track.
Powerful in its simplicity, Eldritch’s attack on the pop values of the
day was as damning as it was compelling on the dance floor. In
retrospect, their reading of The Stooges’ '1969' is a little to obvious
but for a generation still to discover the delights of Iggy Pop, the
track served as a gateway to world that was seriously at odds with the
prevailing view of the 1960s as being little more than a hotchpotch of
paisley, pot and patchouli.
Julian Marszalek
http://thequietus.com/articles/01603-the-sisters-of-mercy
First heard on a John Peel/BBC radio session in
September 1982, "Alice" was released as the Sisters of Mercy's third
single two months later. Constructed around the merciless metronome of
drum machine Doktor Avalanche and a darkly spiraling guitar line,
"Alice" was recorded with the Psychedelic Furs' John Ashton in the
producer's chair -- after two self-produced, self-recorded 45s, it
emerged the band's most conventional sounding single yet: Melody!
Chorus! Intelligible lyrics!
It remains one of their most intriguing releases.
The lyrics are a wealth of ambiguities, shot through with knowing
references to sex, drugs, and Tarot -- Alice herself is a person who
will do whatever is necessary to make reality appear bearable, to
"promise her a definition." It remains a firm fan favorite.
Dave Thompson
http://www.allmusic.com/song/alice-mt0012240499
2 comments:
Yes please!!
;-)
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