Of course you’ve never heard of them. They are from Northern Ireland and are barely what the witless and hit-less call a “one hit wonder.” Appreciation often takes time.
“Broken Land” starts with a simple keyboard motif that could be ascribed to any number of Synthpop hits. Like this one wasn’t.
Is that a hint of Uilleann Pipes? Well I did mention their origin, the band’s later career was destined to explore the plentiful mines of Irish Folk music. But wait.
A simple, dramatic piano figure, bass and drums come in to drive the song home with sonic authority, just the right side of bombast. Well they do if you have the volume high enough? Of course you do, it’s a sign of your commitment.
Next up we have Terry Sharpe’s plaintive and strident, yet vulnerable and slightly fragile vocals, pining lyrics as dystopian and emotional as sixth form poetry. But I choose to hear them as honest and pained; conjuring a universally sentimental notion that in spite of one’s best efforts, things have most certainly not gone as planned.
It is a beautiful confection. Anthemic, melodic and essentially Celtic. The cinematic soundscape makes it easy to forgive the some of the less subtle studio effects: Aphex aural exciter anyone? Go to google any time you like!
So where do I stand with this song? It has accompanied me through many phases of my exploration, come to me in times of need and I can find hope in it’s soaring melody and poetry. Played many times on the radio in 1988, I suggest that people weren’t ready to listen. Not created to be popular, not playing to masses, it’s a personal song and I hear love in it’s creation.
Are you ready?
The Adventures created a timeless classic that is as precious as it is neglected. Don’t make the same mistake!
“I see a broken land.”
mono magazine 