Shriekback -

Shriekback was an English ethno/art-funk band that released multiple 1982–84 shortplayers and the 1983 album Care, followed by the 1984–88 albums Jam Science, Oil and Gold, Big Night Music, and Go Bang!

Keyboardist/vocalist Barry Andrews made two 1978 albums with the original XTC lineup and cut two 1979/80 solo EPs; he also partook in Robert Fripp‘s 1981 post-punk project The League of Gentlemen.

Members: Dave Allen (bass), Carl Marsh (vocals), Barry Andrews (keyboards, vocals), Martyn Barker (drums), Mike Cozzi (guitar), Lu Edmonds (guitar), Wendy Partridge (backing vocals), Sarah Partridge (backing vocals), Karl Hyde (guitar)

Background

Shriekback formed in late 1981 in London’s Kentish Town district, where Barry Andrews teamed with bassist Dave Allen.

Andrews emerged in 1977 in the original XTC lineup. He played on their debut 3D EP and the 1978 Virgin albums White Music and Go 2, the latter with Andrews’ contributions “My Weapon” and “Super Tuff.” In 1979, he cut the solo EP Town and Country, comprised of four songs unused Go 2 submissions. Andrews invited Robert Fripp and Snatch singer Patti Paladin onto his 1980 second single “Rossmore Road” (b/w “Win a Night Out With a Well-Known Paranoiac”). Fripp drafted Andrews into the League of Gentlemen, which toured into 1981 and released a self-titled album on E’G.

Allen played on the 1979–81 Gang of Four albums Entertainment! and Solid Gold, then cleared for League of Gentlemen bassist Sara Lee.

Shriekback rounded out with Carl Marsh, a singer and multi-instrumentalist from Out on Blue Six. The trio signed with Dick O’Dell’s Y Records and entered KPM Studios for a six-track debut.

Tench

Shriekback released their debut EP, Tench, in 1982 on Y Records.

Tench contains six originals from the founding trio, with outside players used selectively. “Sexthinkone” features percussionist Brian Nevill and singers Linda Nevill and Andrea Oliver. Carlo Lucius Asciutti adds piano and xylophone.

“Sexthinkone” prowls on a deep bassline beneath odd male phrases. “Mothloop” churns through a murky figure toward a heated close. “Accretions” coils around oblique phrases before a late surge.

A1. “Sexthinkone” (3:39)
A2. “A Kind of Fascination” (4:34)
A3. “All the Greek Boys (Do the Handwalk)” (4:13)

B1. “Accretions” (4:28)
B2. “Mothloop” (4:39)
B3. “Here Comes My Hand-Clap” (3:17)

The group produced the EP with Neville and Ian Caple, who engineered the main sessions at KPM Studios in London. Brad Grisdale recorded additional work at Berry Street Studio. Caple came from KPM staff engineering and early recording work with Kate Bush and Simple Minds; Grisdale soon engineered the Pigbag album Lend an Ear for Y Records.

Vivienne Kent supplied photography. The front uses reversed rough-textured green board with ragged red lettering. Kent later photographed engineer Gavin MacKillop for Big Night Music.

Y Records issued “Sexthinkone” in July 1982 (b/w “Here Comes My Hand-Clap”). “My Spine Is the Bassline” followed in September (b/w “Tiny Birds”) and reached No. 15 on the UK Independent Singles Chart. Tench reached No. 9 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.

The 2015 two-disc expansion of Tench added studio extras and a ten-song Detroit concert.

Care

Shriekback released their first album, Care, in March 1983 on Y Records.

Care expands the trio format across ten originals and features Kirsty MacColl on backing vocals for “Lined Up.” The US Warner edition replaces “Hapax Legomena” and “In: Amongst” with the earlier Y titles “Accretions” and “My Spine (Is the Bassline).”

“Lined Up” stalks through electronic haze as a steely bass figure holds stern lead singing against female gospel replies. “Clear Trails” glides beneath layered synthesizer haze and hard handclap accents. “Hapax Legomena” drifts across a slow machine pattern, sparse guitar traces, and muttered fragments. “Lines from the Library” thuds on an asymmetrical loop as call-and-response phrases yield to animal grunts.

“Brink of Collapse” lurches between a one-note drone, hissing violin scraps, and offbeat clatter. “Sway” lopes with a slow figure, vocoded scat, and backward piano drift. “Into Method” drills through machine skitters and repeated male phrases. “Evaporation” dissolves into quiet space as processed phrases recede toward a dreamlike hush.

A1. “Lined Up” (3:48) – Andrews
A2. “Clear Trails” (3:41) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh
A3. “Hapax Legomena” (3:58) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh
A4. “Petulant” (3:53) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh
A5. “Lines from the Library” (3:38) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh

B1. “Brink of Collapse” (4:08) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh
B2. “Sway” (3:58) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh
B3. “Into Method” (4:27) – Allen, Andrews, Caple, Marsh
B4. “Evaporation” (3:21) – Andrews, Marsh
B5. “In: Amongst” (2:12) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh

Shriekback co-produced Care with engineer Ian Caple at KPM Studios and Berry Street. Grisdale and Steve Forward handled later overdubs. Warner Bros. replaced “Hapax Legomena” and “In: Amongst” with “Accretions” and “My Spine Is the Bassline” for the reordered United States edition.

Andrews and Martyn Lambert designed the cover and printed inner sleeve. The front uses a near-black field with the band name and title in yellow lettering. Lambert also designed the 1983 “Working on the Ground” sleeve with Andrews.

Y Records lifted “Lined Up” as a February 1983 single (b/w “Hapax Legomena”), which reached No. 89 on the UK Singles Chart. “Working on the Ground” followed in May (b/w “Closework”) and reached No. 5 on the UK Independent Singles Chart. Y Records returned “Lined Up” in remixed form that August (b/w “My Spine Is the Bassline”); the single reached No. 78 on the UK Singles Chart.

Care reached No. 7 on the UK Independent Albums Chart and No. 188 on the Billboard 200 album chart.The band remastered Care in 2014 for an expanded eighteen-track edition.

Lined Up • My Spine

Y Records issued the four-track Lined Up • My Spine EP in August 1983 as catalogue YT 106 within the label’s twelve-inch series.

Dick “Disco” O’Dell recast three earlier recordings for the release. “My Spine Is the Bassline” retained the preceding single version.

“Accretions” coils around an oblique figure and drives terse phrases toward a humid close. “Into Method” drills through militant machine beats and tightly repeated male phrases. “Lined Up” locks a steely figure to stern lead singing and female gospel replies. “My Spine (Is the Bassline)” skulks past ghostly horn traces and pulls bodies into a tense step.

A1. “Accretions (Monstrous Dance Mix)” (6:25) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh
A2. “Into Method (Planet Mix)” (3:19) – Allen, Andrews, Caple, Marsh
AA1. “Lined Up (Sinuous Dance Mix)” (4:00) – Andrews
AA2. “My Spine (Is the Bassline)” (4:00) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh

Y Records packaged standard and picture-disc editions in a clear PVC sleeve.

Jam Science

Shriekback released their second album, Jam Science, in July 1984 through Y Records and Arista. O’Dell assembled the early Y edition from unfinished rough mixes without the group’s approval.

Jam Science features eight tracks on the unauthorized Y edition and ten on the revised Arista release. Drummer Martyn Barker enters on “Midnight Maps” and “Mercy Dash,” while Belgian guitarist Luc van Acker appears on “Partyline” and “Under the Lights.” Selected tracks also feature bassist Phil Butcher and guitarist Ian Caple.

“Hand on My Heart” quickens on machine beats as female replies preview a later group phrase. “Under the Lights” locks into machine accents before a shortened rap and a distorted, unaccompanied coda.

A1. “Hand on My Heart” (3:49) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh
A2. “Newhome” (3:38) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh
A3. “Achtung” (4:20) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh
A4. “Partyline” (3:29) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh
A5. “Midnight Maps” (4:09) – Allen, Andrews, Barker, Marsh

B1. “Mercy Dash” (4:04) – Allen, Andrews, Barker, Marsh
B2. “Under the Lights” (3:17) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh
B3. “My Careful Hands” (3:52) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh
B4. “Suck” (5:28) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh
B5. “Hubris” (3:52) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh

Shriekback and Paul “Groucho” Smykle produced the Arista album at Regents Park Studio in London. Smykle and Caple engineered the recordings with assistant Femi Jiya. Gregory Isaacs album Out Deh! preceded the sessions; Black Uhuru album Anthem followed within the same period.

Da Gama designed the Arista package with object work by Tom Bower and photography by Nick Knight. His recent sleeve work included Elvis Costello album Punch the Clock. The Y cover depicts a cartoon wood screw; Arista replaced that image with the band-approved package.

Arista issued “Hand on My Heart” in July 1984 (b/w “Nerve”), which reached No. 52 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 22 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. “Mercy Dash (Ready for This)” followed in September (b/w “Gated Joy”). Jam Science reached No. 85 on the UK Albums Chart.

The band issued a two-disc remaster in 2014 with period mixes and a Hatfield concert.

Knowledge, Power, Truth and Sex (EP)

Shriekback released the six-track Knowledge, Power, Truth and Sex EP in 1984 on Arista for the European market. The set compiles four titles from the Arista edition of Jam Science — “Mercy Dash,” “Achtung,” “Hubris,” and “Suck” — with “Nerve” and “Mistah Linn He Dead” from the contemporaneous “Hand on My Heart” singles.

The EP concentrates the spare, percussive side of the Arista material around bass, synthesizer, percussion, and processed voice. “Nerve” extends that wiry electronic texture outside the album sequence, while Adrian Sherwood transforms “Hand on My Heart” material into the dub-treated “Mistah Linn He Dead,” where echo and fractured rhythm replace the parent arrangement.

A1. “Mercy Dash” (4:10) – Allen, Andrews, Barker, Marsh
A2. “Achtung” (4:30) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh
A3. “Hubris” (3:59) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh

B1. “Suck” (5:32) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh
B2. “Nerve” (2:42) – Allen, Andrews, Barker, Marsh
B3. “Mistah Linn He Dead” (3:49) – Allen, Andrews, Marsh

Da Gama designed Knowledge, Power, Truth and Sex with photography by Nick Knight. The front cover places a purple Shriekback nameplate and orange profile graphic against a green field, with the EP title along the lower edge. Da Gama also created contemporary sleeves for the Comsat Angels, the Creatures, the Glove, and the Psychedelic Furs; Knight, then an i-D cover photographer, also paired with Da Gama on Lloyd Cole and the Commotions (“Forest Fire”).

“Nerve” first appeared beside “Hand on My Heart” and “Suck” on the standard Arista 12-inch. The alternate remix issue paired “Nerve” with Paul Smykle and Adrian Sherwood treatments of “Hand on My Heart,” including “Mistah Linn He Dead,” before Arista regrouped both titles on the EP.

Oil and Gold

Shriekback released their third album, Oil and Gold, in June 1985 on Arista.

Oil and Gold establishes Barker as the regular drummer and adds guitarist Lu Edmonds. Marsh sings “Malaria,” “Everything That Rises Must Converge,” and “Fish Below the Ice,” with a further lead on “Health and Knowledge and Wealth and Power.” Andrews sings the post-Marsh balance. Guest players include violinist Benno Mendelson and shakuhachi player Paul B. Hirsch.

“Malaria” surges through gospel replies and hot electronic distortion beneath Marsh’s fevered delivery. “Everything That Rises Must Converge” hammers through metallic bass figures and percussive clatter. “This Big Hush” glides across misted electronics as Andrews murmurs against languid female replies. “Faded Flowers” lingers as a slow, sultry mantra around Andrews’ scratchy lead.

“Nemesis” stomps through a booming beat and a chanted refrain as guitar distortion slices across split-register singing. “Hammerheads” prowls through insectile electronics and Caribbean percussion. “Coelocanth” recedes through aqueous synthesizer haze and trickling water samples.

A1. “Malaria” (4:29)
A2. “Everything That Rises Must Converge” (4:03)
A3. “Fish Below the Ice” (4:24)
A4. “This Big Hush” (6:11)
A5. “Faded Flowers” (3:44)

B1. “Nemesis” (3:43)
B2. “Only Thing That Shines” (4:23)
B3. “Health and Knowledge and Wealth and Power” (4:44)
B4. “Hammerheads” (4:17)
B5. “Coelocanth” (4:13)

The band began work at Lillie Yard with Hans Zimmer, who co-produced and engineered the initial rhythm recordings and programmed the Fairlight CMI. Andrews directed production through later sessions at Gaslight and Rockfield Studios, where Caple co-engineered Oil and Gold with mixer Gavin MacKillop.

Tactical Art designed the sleeve with band photography by Knight and deep-fish photography by Peter David of Planet Earth Pictures. The front sets glossy black eels among pale feathers and places red-tinted member portraits along the left edge.

Arista released “Nemesis” in May 1985 (b/w a live “Suck”), which reached No. 94 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 18 in New Zealand. The accompanying double pack added live versions of “Mothloop” and “Feelers.” “Fish Below the Ice” followed in September (b/w “Coelocanth”) and reached No. 88 on the UK Singles Chart; a double pack added live recordings of “Lined Up” and “My Spine Is the Bassline.”

The 2011 two-disc edition added BBC concert recordings from 1984 and period remixes.

Big Night Music

Shriekback released their fourth album, Big Night Music, in 1986 on Island Records.

Big Night Music spotlights ten group originals from the remaining trio of Andrews, Allen, and Barker, performed with auxiliary guitarist Mike Cozzi and keyboardist Steve Halliwell. Backing vocalists Sarah and Wendy Partridge appear across seven tracks. “Black Light Trap” and “Running on the Rocks” add trumpeter Mark Chandler, trombonist Richard Edwards, and tenor saxophonist Ian Fraser.

“Black Light Trap” looms through creaking density and abrasive closing distortion. “Gunning for the Buddha” saunters through castanet chatter and island accents. “Running on the Rocks” charges on a driving bass figure beneath circling guitar and subterranean lead phrases. “The Shining Path” glides as a hushed, moonlit serenade. “Pretty Little Things” skips through bright marimba figures.

“The Reptiles and I” lumbers in three-quarter time through glassine synthesizer echoes. “Sticky Jazz” shuffles through abrupt turns and a loose-limbed step. “Cradle Song” lingers as a slow, classically shaped lullaby.

A1. “Black Light Trap” (5:09)
A2. “Gunning for the Buddha” (4:37)
A3. “Running on the Rocks” (4:58)
A4. “The Shining Path” (4:37)
A5. “Pretty Little Things” (3:50)

B1. “Underwaterboys” (4:51)
B2. “Exquisite” (4:30)
B3. “The Reptiles and I” (4:32)
B4. “Sticky Jazz” (4:28)
B5. “Cradle Song” (4:16)

Sessions ran May through July 1986 at the Point Studios and Fallout Shelter in London, where Gavin MacKillop produced and engineered Big Night Music between 1985–87 albums by The Sound (Heads and Hearts) and Xmal Deutschland (Viva).

Stylorouge founder Rob O’Connor designed the sleeve around a band portrait by Peter Ashworth, who also photographed the 1985/86 Eurythmics sleeves for Be Yourself Tonight and Revenge. The front places three color-separated portraits beneath a crescent moon, with animal figures running through patterned side borders.

Island issued “Gunning for the Buddha” in December 1986 (b/w “Bludgeoned”). The New Zealand release of “Running on the Rocks” reached No. 30 on the national singles chart. Big Night Music reached No. 145 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Go Bang!

Shriekback released their fifth album, Go Bang!, in 1988 on Island Records.

Allen left before the sessions, leaving Andrews and Barker with Cozzi, Sarah Partridge, and Wendy Partridge as the principal group. Tackhead bassist Doug Wimbish plays on five tracks. The nine-song set includes a cover of KC and the Sunshine Band (“Get Down Tonight”).

“Intoxication” surges from immediate momentum into broad, anthemic phrases. “Shark Walk” slinks through a playful, libidinous figure. “Over the Wire” prowls through cryptic rap beneath a sinister murmur. “New Man” coils around oblique phrases and Andrews’ venomous delivery.

“Night Town” glides through sinuous nocturnal phrases beneath his dark murmur. “Go Bang” stomps through sinister swing as Partridge replies punctuate lead phrases. “Dust and a Shadow” drifts on a tranquil keyboard figure toward a fluid close.

A1. “Intoxication” (3:44)
A2. “Shark Walk” (3:57)
A3. “Over the Wire” (3:28)
A4. “New Man” (3:47)
A5. “Nighttown” (4:11)

B1. “Go Bang!” (2:21)
B2. “Big Fun” (3:11)
B3. “Get Down Tonight” (3:26) – Casey, Finch
B4. “Dust and a Shadow” (4:36)

Sessions spanned January through March 1988 at Compass Point Studios in Nassau with producer Richard James Burgess, the onetime Landscape frontman and Spandau Ballet soundman. Burgess arrived fresh from the 1987 debut by Living in a Box. The Go Bang! engineer, Stuart Bruce, worked beforehand on titles by Nik Kershaw (Radio Musicola) and Martin Stephenson and the Daintees (Gladsome, Humour & Blue).

Stylorouge directed the Go Bang! sleeve with photography by Simon Fowler, whose contemporary assignments included Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley. The cover places the five members against a white field, with Andrews in sunglasses at the foreground and the title set vertically along the left edge.

“Intoxication” reached No. 6 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, and “Shark Walk” reached No. 19 on the same ranking.

Island issued “Get Down Tonight” in July 1988 (b/w “Big Fun”); the single reached No. 20 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart and No. 19 on the New Zealand singles chart.

Later Activity

Shriekback ceased regular activity after the Go Bang! cycle. Andrews reconvened the name for Sacred City in 1992, then resumed periodic releases with Barker and returning collaborators from 1999 onward.

Discography: