Friday 13 May 2022

All Colours Washed Away Again

Archive have featured in previous Dubhed selections in September and December 2021, but never in their own right. Prompted by SWC's Archive post in March on the ever-excellent No Badger Required and the release of 12th album, Call To Arms & Angels, on 29th April, I've kicked off with the current - and fourth - single, Frying Paint. I’m not particularly sold on the (to my jaundiced viewer's eyes) ropey CGI but I like the song. 

The album is available as a standard 17-track or deluxe 27-track edition on vinyl and CD formats. Vinyl appears to have already sold out in the official Archive store but your friendly neighbourhood record store may have copies.

In 2019, Archive celebrated 25 years with a couple of succinctly named compilations, 25 and Versions. The former drew on songs from their expansive back catalogue, the latter newly recorded and reimagined versions of select cuts. I don't have either of those, but I did dip into 2020's follow up, Versions: Remixed, last year with the particular attraction of remixes by Richard Norris and Andy Bell in his GLOK guise. 

I've included a trio of the remixed Versions below, paired with their live or original single counterparts for comparison. As SWC noted in his post, Archive's Wikipedia entry comes with a potential health warning of "progressive, avant garde rock", I think mainly for their propensity for including one or more 10+ minute songs on each album, Call To Arms & Angels no exception. 
 
If you remember Archive for their 1996 breakthrough hit Londinium, featuring Rosko John and the amazing Roya Arab, then you may be disappointed, but there's much to explore and enjoy in the Archive, er, archive.



 

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