Graveyard Tapes - Our Sound is Our Wound

  by Dave Goodwin

published: 12 / 7 / 2013

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I think my mum and dad got close to signing me off to the men in the white coats when I was a teenager. I would sit in my room and listen to all sorts of wonderfully uplifting music from the likes of Joy Division, the Cure, Killing Joke and Bauhaus. By day I was a fishtail sporting mod and by night a proper little depressive! Had Graveyard Tapes been around at that time of my life I think I would have stayed on the meandering path to Gothsville a little longer. Graveyard Tapes are a dark experimental pop duo from Edinburgh, Scotland comprising of Euan Mcmeeken (a former member of the Kays Lavelle, and who is also known both for his solo piano work as glacis and for his independent label mini50 records) and Matthew Collings (ex-Convex Mancave and Sketches for Albinos player, and who is noted for both his highly experimental solo material and his collaborations with Dag Rosenqvist and Talvihorros). In 2010 at a time of bereavement, homesickness and uncertainty, Euan and Matt created three initial tracks, ‘Gravebell’, ‘Blood Bridge’ and ‘Wolves’. ‘Our Sound Is Our Wound is Graveyard Tapes’ collaborative debut and is basically a joining of both art forms, combining McMeeken's sorrowful vocals and some delicate piano arrangements with Collings' electronic wizardry and dazzling percussion. The whole thing starts and signals its intentions with a sort of magnified bat sonar call with the instrumental ‘Gravebell’ which filters in to a wonderful morbid piano synth backing and a strange aircraft type rumble in ‘Bloodbridge’. There is comprehensive proof already here that the two ostensibly divergent styles expertly compliment each other. There is some serious chirp and rattle going in here due to Collings' laptop dabblings and squeakings especially in the complicated mush of ‘Gravebat’. It is not all weird though. The guitar-spiced and for me strongest track ‘Hunting for Statues’ gives the listener a bit of respite, and there are some nervous vocal hooks throughout ‘Insomniac Dawn’ too. ‘Our Sound is Our Wound’ is a dark but competent debut full of the unexpected. It is quite haunting in places, especially when the vocals get distorted into a hurt pleading wail. Musically it is all over the place. But then again so was most of the Cure’s wonderful back catalogue. Trying to liken it something else is hard because it is sounds unique. It drifted over me on first listening, but a second helping soon got the better of me. The most morose moment on this dark album is the piano- driven 'Memorials', one of the saddest treats you are ever likely to hear. If my mum had walked in during the funeral style handclaps of 'Memorials' I fear my childhood might have ended there. My dad always cheekily sort of stuck up for me, but I think even he would have raised his eyebrows to this one. This is a great slab of gorgeous sadness. Marvellous!

Track Listing:-

1 Gravebell
2 Bloodbridge
3 Gravebat
4 Insomniac Dawn
5 Hunting for Statues
6 Memorials
7 Our Sound is Our Wound
8 Wolves

Band Links:-

https://gtapes.bandcamp.com/album/our-sound-is-our-wound
https://www.facebook.com/graveyardtapes
https://twitter.com/graveyardtapes

Label Links:-

http://www.losttribesound.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/losttribesound
https://twitter.com/losttribesound
https://www.facebook.com/Lost-Tribe-Sound-113326415358096/
https://www.pinterest.com/losttribesound/
http://losttribesound.bandcamp.com/

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