The Lucy Show – Remembrances
Ah, indie music, – eighties alternative rock.
I’m home!
Let’s face it we’re all indie kids here, we’re all outsiders and nobody much understands us. That’s the way we like it and that’s the way we like our music. Yes we’ll let our favourite bands have athe occasional breakthrough. We’ll probably all bask together in collective, ‘we knew you were good’ smugness. But woe betide bands with any ideas about having a ‘career’. Have a career and you won’t be cool anymore. We won’t like you. We’ll turn away.
Those of us who wear our musical obscurity like a badge of honour would be advised to check out, (or reconnect with) The Lucy Show . In terms of alternatives, they didn’t come much more obscure than London-based The Lucy Show. Based around Canadian songwriting duo Rob Vandeven and Mark Bandola , The Lucy Show existed in the mid-eighties, drawing comparison with the likes of The Cure , and Bauhaus as well as garnering that highest of accolades at the time, namely John Peel approval. Their back catalogue had been out of print for fifteen years until Words On Music got involved by rereleasing Undone in 2009. (You can read our review of the revered debut album via the link below.)
Remembrances is a collection of rarities and previously unreleased songs, versions and demos, aimed squarely at fans. Most of these songs are absolute gems. The formative Lucy Show dealt in doom-laden, minimalistic dirges redolent of peer bands such as Comsat Angels , Dance Society and The Sound . It was a UK scene still in thrall to Factory records. Later releases would reveal more depth to The Lucy Show than just shadowy basslines. A dip into these guys musical influences shows real appreciation of classic pop. Touring with REM certainly rubbed off, but more apparent were the touches of classic psychedelia that garnered Beach Boys comparisons – this, remember, in days well before the likes of Flaming Lips and other Pet Sounds copyists. John Leckie’s fingerprints are everywhere.
At 17 tracks, you certainly get value for money. The tracks themselves are elevated above mere curiosities. Even the demos don’t lack for quality, instead they provide different insights and possibilities. That said, Remembrances probably isn’t the best entry point for newcomers to The Lucy Show. This is a fans collection, a pot boiler diehard Lucy Show followers will not want to miss. The curious would be better directed to Undone , a more coherent and satisfying work overall. In any case, such is the quality on offer, new converts to this band will soon want to pick up the other re-releases anyway.
Should we keep it indie? Keep it underground? I guess we like it better that way. We’re weird. We don’t like sharing. Luckily Words On Music set a far better example.
The Lucy Show at Words On Music