Search - Comsat Angels :: Sleep No More & Extras

A must listen from the band that invented "Alternative Rock"

bobsacco | usa | 04/25/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, once bigger than U2. In fact, U2 was their opening act in the early 80's and sat in the front row during the main show and took excellent notes. The Comsats are mostly ignored from mainstream critics for their impact on creating "Alternative Rock", as we know it today. But, talk to seasoned musicians and music insiders and they'll go on at length about the greatest band no one has ever heard of. Their first LP "Waiting for a Miracle, 1979" was proof of their claim as the first band to bridge post punk and Alternative Rock in the same LP. Check our tracks "Monkey Pilot" vs. "Real Story." In fact, Trouser Press rated this LP as the greatest Debut LP of all time. The second LP and my favorite and darkest (most arty) is Sleep No More, 1980. This LP was the first true Alternative Rock LP to define the elusive "Alternative Rock" genre. It is powerful, textural, melodic, hypnotic and hallucinogenic. Side one has been noted by other critics as the finest display of Alternative Rock ever released on side A of an LP. Fiction, 1982 their third release on Polydor before being released by the label is a melodic gem. Less dense than Sleep No More and more accessible song structures that shows off the band's complex melodic moods while keeping everything "hum-able." *Interesting note, after Polydor dropped them after their third LP, they refused to release the master tapes for re-release on CD for over 16 years. Recently as 1997 was the first time you could buy these releases on re-mastered CD's.If the above is too arty or challenging, check out "Land, 1984", "7 Day Weekend", "Chasing Shadows, 1986", "My Mind's Eye, 1992" and "The Glamour, 1995." You'll be humming those tunes for years to come."

And they say there was no music of note in the 80s

R. Sutherland | England | 12/29/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Probably the greatest 4:00 am album ever recorded"

Its doesnt get much darker than this

mARKst | Edinburgh | 10/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Unlike the Bunnymen and U2, the Comsat Angels never tasted real commercial success in the early 1980's when they were at their artistic peak.



They recorded three great lp's between 1980 and 1982 and were critically acclaimed across the music press. But then they lost their way in an attempt to break through commercially.



This record, Sleep No More, is easily the best record of its kind to come out of the early 1980's. There is a sort of geometric symmetry to the music, rivalled only by Joy Division for sheer atmospheric intensity.



Stand out tracks include Dark Parade, Be Brave and Our Secret. I've been listening to this LP regularly for more than 20 years, and even now the cohesion and narrative power as well as the amazing interplay between the band makes it essential. Glad to see that the Comsats reputation is enjoying something of a renaissance.

"