I have a short list of dream releases. Albums I wish -- dang near pray -- will be released. British pop band The Sundays haven't released an album since 1997's masterpiece "Static & Silence," a beautiful blend of Harriet Wheeler's ethereal vocals and multi-faceted guitar by her talented husband, David. The two were supported by 2 also-rans whose names elude me (sorry y'all -- but I'm sure you're used to it).

After minimal touring to support the album, the band fell off the planet. Harriet and David have started a family and their nameless mates (I'm beginning to feel a little guilty about dissing them) have played hither and thither with other acts, according to a few fan sites.

Wonderful textures abound on that album, and Harriet never sounded better. I truly find her voices to be one of those rare treats in music: gentle, pure and sweet. Almost cherubic and perfectly complemented by David's guitar playing and inventive parts. At any rate, "Static & Silence" stands as the kind of album most bands would be proud to serve as their professional epitaph. I don't refer to many albums as essential, but this is one of those beauts that fits the bill. Great chill music.



I'm a bit bummed that it looks like this will be their final album.




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[This message was edited Wed Apr 14 23:37:24 2004 by ThreadBare]

I'd like to check them out further because I heard " She" ( very nice)and "Homeward" from that album and I really liked them... and I've always loved their version of "Wild Horses" ( believe it or not I first heard that on a Budweiser Commercial!)...

I'd been wondering what happened to this group. When I asked, some people were like "WHO?" Beautiful vocals, great lyrics. I sure hope you're wrong about that being their last album. I always felt that the Cranberries were trying to copy their sound. Unsuccessfully mind you. Anyway...I guess we'll just have to treasure what's left of this underrated group.

I love the Sundays. I'm happy I got to see them tour in support of Static and Silence..

I haven't lost all hope as it was a long stretch between "Blind" and "Static and Silence", so maybe we'll get another go from them sometime!

Hey, fellow Sundays fans!


Yeah, I agree about the Cranberries riding their sound fairly hard -- though I've never heard the Sundays rock out like Dolores and the boys ("Zombie," etc).

Endorphin74, I understand the Sundays cut short the US leg of their Static & Silence tour.

Apparently, they were homesick.

ThreadBare said:

BASTARDS! Well, at least they held out thru MPLS!

They had played here once before, but it was a 21+ show and I wasn't old enough...I woulda had a heart attack had they canceled the Static and Silence show!

i love the sundays too thanks to endo
i wish i wouldnt have missed that show....or wait...was i there
lifes so blurry so sometimes.....but seriously...no...i dont think i was there. i sure wish i would have been.

I haven't heard anything since Reading, Writing and Arithmetic
Man, that was a long time ago!!
Nothing really stuck to ribs from that album, though I did like that track 'You're not the only one I know'

I absolutely loved Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. I remember playing that album for several friends who absolutely fell for it as hard as I did, which suprised me as most of my friends were avowed Smith-detesters, and I think that album bore a very strong resemblance to that band.

I thought RW&A was a masterpiece of modest guitar pop. I never really felt they lived up to that album. Of course it didn't help that they waited seven years to release an album that sounded more or less identical to the ones that preceded it.

Count me in as another Sundays fan.

It's too bad groups like this fade away.

Another Sundays fan here. I was supposed to see them in '93 but they cancelled at the last minute. Never did get to see them live. The first album remains for me their best. Strange that at one time MTV would play a video by a band like that! Never happen today, fo' sho'. Sundays fans on a Prince board? Interesting.....


Stormbringer

how much do I love You're not the only one I know

jn2 said:

thiiiiis much

jn2 said:

ohhh i love that song too

violett said:

& if you do, don't you know that I don't mind
a suggestion for all Sundays lovers band:Frente
album: Marvin The Come Back ( it's amusing Prince & The NPG are thanks in the credits )
edit: and The Sundays cover of The Stones Wild Horses is wonderful
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[This message was edited Sat Apr 17 16:15:34 2004 by jn2]

I actually don't find it odd that there would be Sundays fans here. Prince was pretty popular among the caucasion alt-rock crowd in the eighties - I know, I was one of those people. I didn't listen to any other black/urban artists (I still don't, actually, except for Al Green). Back then I listened to the Replacements, The Smiths, My Bloody Valentine and a lot of British new wave and punk. I think this popularity among alternative rockers happened basically because after Dirty Mind, Prince was marketed as a new wave/rock act, as opposed to the first two albums which were aimed strictly at the R&B crowd.

flipwilson said:

Two funny things, Flip. You're gonna love this.



1) A lot of folks develop music tastes wholly independent of Prince. He's likely the fave of everyone who posts here, but he's not the end-all be-all.

2) Here's here's here's the killer. Black people actually dig the Sundays, too. You see ... ... I'm actually a Negro -- you know, one of those people.

ThreadBare said:

Hmmm - I think you might have missed my completely innocuous point that Prince had a great degree of popularity among the punk/alt rock crowd in the eighties, even though the music he produced was completely unlike anything those people would generally listen to. I actually think it's very interesting that this was the case. I remember hanging out at the local alternative club in town which would play the Smiths, Stone Roses, Happy Mondays - what was considered edgy, left of center music at the time. Prince was pretty much the only black artist I can ever recall being played there. Even though Prince was very much aiming at the top 40 and R&B market, he had a definite niche among indie rockers who would generally sneer at anything that came close to the top of the charts.

I remember people in this scene taking a lot of pride in who had the most obscure taste in music (I was always very proud that I had a complete collection of German art rockers Can on vinyl). I think it's a topic worthy of discussion that Prince had the degree of popularity he did in this market. Don't you?

I agree with you, friend. I simply dwelled on that minor aside to poke some fun.

As for his popularity with "unlikely" folks, I think people who love and are passionate about music (this applies to the crowd you reference, as well as to us at the Org) listen to as many different types of it as we can find.

As a result, we develop favorites and curiosities. We give people a listen -- even if those people seem far removed from our norms (and whatever artists & genres those norms comprise).

So, while I study Prince's styles and influences, I'll also find Harriet Wheeler's and Karen Peris' voices utterly gorgeous (though, again, totally different from my usual love of such husky-voiced altos as Lalah Hathaway) and will occasionally chill out to Astor Piazzolla or Henryk Gorecki. We all have a center, somewhere, but our far-flung musical interests can be of note, too.

As you say, it can be fascinating.