Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus - Devotion to a Noble Ideal

  by Steve Kinrade

published: 17 / 4 / 2025

---

It’s 1991 - Liverpool is at the centre of a post The La’s A&R feeding frenzy, and bands who sound in the same sonic ballpark as Mavers and Company are being snapped up by the majors labels. Against such a backdrop, Geoff Davies gifts me the latest Probe Plus release, 'Mirror', by the oddly named The Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus. “Hey man, have a listen to this…” I had recently become interested in instrumental/ambient music and was starting to listen more to Brian Eno, Jon Hassell, and David Sylvian, 'Alchemy' and 'Gone to Earth'being firm favourites. So into the CD player it went, and by 'Nostalgia', I was hooked. My main musical priority was then to listen to their first album, 'The Gift of Tears', and I was not disappointed. The following years I have kept in touch with this reclusive band, a distant soundtrack to my ageing. So it is with great excitement to hear that Liverpool’s 9x9 Records are releasing two new releases from RAIJ. The first is the 12” EP 'Devotion to a Nobel Ideal', which the press release describes as “Part retrospective and part reimagining of their work, the EP contains 4 tracks, each produced in collaboration with a different creative partner, offering a sometimes radical reinterpretation of three previous works as well as one new piece. It is a startling body of material from the Liverpool-based art house collective that, nearly 40 years since its inception, continues to evolve.” The said tracks are 'Equinox' and 'Voices' (from 'The Dream We Carry' album), 'Avatars' ('Songs of Yearning' album), and 'After the Silence', which is billed as a new track. The remixes, although an interesting creative exercise, however, do not really offer any new insights into the original work. And the new track is credited as a Dorothy Bird Remix. Now, although Dorothy Bird is an accomplished artist in her own right, am I being needy in expecting the original composition and not a remix from another artist? But on a more positive note, it’s great to see the most excellent 'Rumours Of Angels' being released in its own right. Avid collectors will almost certainly own this collection already, as it is already available as part of the 'After The End 'CD Box Set, released via the French label Infrastition in 2013. However, such releases generate interest, and Liverpool’s 9x9 Records need to be congratulated in allocating financial and other resources in support of this truly important but unsung band.

Track Listing:-

1 Equinox (Jon Lawton Remix)
2 After the Silence (Dorothy Bird Remix)
3 Avatars (The Orchestra of the Northern Territories Remix)
4 Voices – (Blood of Achilles Remix)

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Revolutionary-Army-of-the-Infant-Je
https://twitter.com/raijofficial
https://www.instagram.com/revolutionaryarmy_raij/

Have a Listen:-

Post A Comment

---

Comment

Name

your name

Location

ie London, UK

Submit

Check box to submit

Adam Coxon
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson

Dixie Ernill
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart

Malcolm Carter
Marie Hazelwood
Mark Rowland
Nick Dent-Robinson
Nicky Crewe
Nige Nudds
Philamonjaro
Richard Lewis
Shirley Procter
Spencer Robertshaw
Steev Burgess
Steve Kinrade

Steve Miles
Tommy Gunnarsson
Zena Grieg