Soul Merchants - 1985-1987

  by Andrew Carver

published: 7 / 1 / 2008

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Denver’s Soul Merchants dubbed their music psychedelic death rock. During its short lifespan the band released three albums on cassette and one vinyl LP, ‘The Gates of Heaven’, an EP and several compilation appearances and served as a keystone to the town’s musical outcast community. The sonic fingerprints of Siouxsie and The Banshees, Paul Roland, Joy Division are all over the 15 track sampler sent to reviewers as a stand in for the 2-CD set in stores (which apparently compiles everything but ‘The Gates of Heaven’, slated for separate release). Portentous vocals, keyboards that sound like the electronic offspring of a Renaissance clavichord and a gloomy lyrical bent will be of the most interest to fans of bands like Fields of the Nephilim and Sisters of Mercy. Faint echoes of Doors tracks like ‘The End’ can also be heard. Some tracks, like ‘Armoured Factions’, deviate into slightly more herky-jerky, post-punk territory with more adenoidal singing. Despite its humble origins on four-track tape, the tracks sound super crisp. This is probably a tribute to the talents of ex-Soul Merchant Bob Ferbrache, who went onto fame (or perhaps infamy) as part of Boyd Rice’s Blood Axis and as recording engineer to virtually every band on the Denver underground music scene. I hesitate to recommend a set which I’ve only heard a third of, but assuming there hasn’t been too much cherry-picking, ‘1985-1987’ should definitely be of interest to fans of the early wave of gothic rock; psych fans may also want to pick it up for tracks like ‘Cold Dark Bed’, which features some truly wiggy guitar soloing.

Track Listing:-

1 Crown Of Glory
2 Joanna
3 It Hurts
4 Mary Had
5 Lady Godiva's Diary
6 Save My Soul
7 Mental Clay
8 Anthem
9 Carelessly A Boy
10 Marianne
11 Just One More Favor
12 When I Smile
13 Valentine's Day
14 Rotten Rose
15 The Meek
16 Patrick McCarren
17 Still Waters
18 In The Light
19 Ceremony
20 Atomic Reign
21 Blue Light
22 Beating Heart
23 Armoured Factions
24 Out Of The Shadows
25 The Sea
26 Cold Dark Bed
27 Love
28 Web Of Illusion
29 Within Josephine
30 Lucifer's Gunn
31 Joshua's Song
32 Nowhere Land
33 I Regret
34 Attics
35 Black Rain
36 Speedboat
37 Say It Isn't So
38 Cold
39 Kiss The Girls And Make Them Die
40 On Cloudy Days

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