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Laughing Stock
$16.99 LP
Mark Hollis
$16.99 LP
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TALK TALK
Laughing Stock
(Ba Da Bing)
MARK HOLLIS
Mark Hollis
(Ba Da Bing)
Ba Da Bing does us all a favor with these vinyl reissues of UK band Talk Talk's classic final album, 1991's Laughing Stock, and group leader Mark Hollis' equally mind-blowing eponymous 1998 solo album. While these records went on to influence and serve as foundation cornerstones for what became the "post-rock" movement, and influenced groups like Radiohead and Sigur Ros in the way they blend textural ambition and innovation with classic song craft, Hollis' singular sound now seems to be coming back and playing influence to the likes of James Blake and Bon Iver, whose heartfelt lyrical and vocal emotion slowly emerge from stark instrumental minimalism. These records are massively important and are long overdue to be discovered by a new audience who need to hear where the acclaim of those artists' recent recordings finds its roots.
Talk Talk started out as a pop-leaning synth wave band who hit the charts with songs like "Talk Talk," "Dum Dum Girl," "Life's What You Make It," and most famously, "It's My Life." But as their popularity increased, Hollis began to move in a radically different direction, blending rock music with jazz, classical, and free improvisation, garnering much critical acclaim, if few pop singles, eventually fostering a split between the group and longtime label EMI. Released on the jazz imprint, Verve, Laughing Stock was a bold, bold statement from a major chart act, comparable to Radiohead's transition from OK Computer to Kid A. The album bathes in stark, emotional quietude, its lengthy pieces slowly unwinding in serpentine forms that float subtle harmonic textures against jagged tension; Hollis sings only when necessary, never relying on verse/chorus structure, instead sculpting a unique form of chamber music for rock instrumentation. He drew inspiration from Miles Davis records like In a Silent Way and Sketches of Spain, which place equal importance on instrumental texture, dark, sensual ambiance, and lengthy, tuneful improvisation. As oblique as the music can get on Laughing Stock, it never denies its accessibility or its sensuality, fully immersing the listener in a lush, gentle world of sound. Strings, woodwinds, quietly brushed drums, and guitars all play important roles in the ecosystem of these songs, none removable and none overwhelming the other. The album is, quite simply, a masterpiece. Talk Talk disbanded shortly after the record's release, and for many years Hollis disappeared from the public eye.
Seven years after Laughing Stock's jaw-dropping quietude, Mark Hollis returned with one more recorded document of brilliance before again escaping into a self-imposed reclusion. Released on Polydor to hushed reverence, his solo album continues the fragile intensity of Laughing Stock, but creates here what could be described as ambient gospel; the atmosphere is as fragile as tissue paper, yet there is an indestructible, soulful core at the music's center, seemingly drawing upon the sounds of devotional music, like a monk quietly serenading himself in a sparsely furnished yet comfortable room. There's an increased focus on the overall ambiance of the recording, with all of the album's instrumentation allegedly laid down in one room with only two microphones. His voice resonates so clearly, so deeply, that for all of its fragility, it remains one of the most powerful ever recorded on tape, and each instrument's physical textures, from the slide of the fingertip against a guitar string to the gentle exhalation of breath from a clarinet, adds life to the record. This is, in my opinion, an album that everyone should hear at least once before they die; its power and perfection grow deeper with age. Hollis has not recorded or made a public appearance since the album's release, save for an award acceptance in 2004; he instead chose to walk away from his old lifestyle and focus on his family. While many continue to pine for his return, we should be thankful that his brilliance bestowed upon us these two masterpieces of truly unique song craft. Every Talk Talk record deserves your attention, but these albums together stand in a class of their own. Consider this essential listening of the highest order. [IQ]
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