Lloyd Cole & The Commotions – Cole, Blair Cowan, Lawrence Donegan, Neil Clark and Stephen Irvine – were formed in Glasgow in 1982, where Buxton-born singer-songwriter Cole was studying Philosophy and English at the University of Glasgow -Their sound swam against the tide of shiny 80s synthesisers, offering intense, melodic, guitar-based pop, topped with droll words packed with literary references. Given just how loved debut album Rattlesnakes was, it would have been hard for whatever followed to be received as warmly – yet Easy Pieces made a good first of it. It was to sell twice as many copies in its first two weeks as Rattlesnakes had to date, giving the group a Top 5 chart placing on its release in November 1985. Recorded with 80s super-producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, its first two singles, the brooding, gospel influenced Brand New Friend and the forever-jaunty Lost Weekend reached the UK Top 20. This re-issue faithfully replicates the original 1985 Polydor Records UK release with printed inner sleeve and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl. Signing to Polydor Records, the groups debut single, Perfect Skin, was released in early 1984 followed in October of that year by their debut album, Rattlesnakes. Produced by Paul Hardiman with strings arranged by Anne Dudley, it became one of the most cherished albums of the 80s. Including further singles Forest Fire and the title track, the group found themselves as the darlings of the music press, at a time when a university education was still a relative rarity. Cole wasted little time in cramming cultural allusions in his material – listeners were introduced to a world of Norman Mailer, Eva Marie Saint and Truman Capote, all wrapped in delightfully written pop music. This re- issue faithfully replicates the original 1984 Polydor Records UK release with printed inner sleeve and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl using the artist-approved 2020 remaster. … Tracks: Perfect Skin / Speedboat / Rattlesnakes / Down On Mission Street / Forest Fire / Charlotte Street / 2CV / Four Flights Up / Patience / Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?
