It’s Immaterial – “Song” (1990)

Melancholy. Sadness. English desolation. Thesa are spontaneous associations listening to this album. Song was It's immaterial second album, a few years earlier they had released their debut LP Life's Hard And Then You Die with the hit Driving away from home on it, after that not many people heard from them again. Personally, I can thank my abilitiy to track down cheap albums that I own this vinyl. I don’t remember what I paid for it, but it was cheap, and because I liked their first album I bought it with not so much hesitation. It was not even in a store for used albums.

It's immaterial’s existence can be said to have been in the 80s. From the beginning there were four members of the band, but from 1984 they were a duo consisting of John Campbell and Jarvis Whitehead. Their debut album sold well while the sequel didn’t receive much attention. Maybe four years of waiting between the debut and the follow-up was too long? The album got good reviews but people chose other records to buy.

I was a little disappointed with this album at the time of the purchase. I found the atmosphere too melancholic and it happened too little in the songs, although I thought it was well written songs. But it just didn’t suit me, I felt the album was a bit boring. There were too few ‘hooks’ in the songs and they were hard to sing along to, I also felt the songs were pretty much alike. At the same time I had the feeling that it was an album of quality, an album I should like - it was almost as if it was hiding a secret to discover. Compared to their debut album (which I liked) I thought Song, looking at it objectively, in many ways was better - the duo seemed to have matured, there was greater depth in the songs and the music felt both more ambitious and more serious. Maybe it was too serious for me, maybe I needed to mature to fully enjoy the music?

When I now listen to the LP, I still think it maybe happens too little in the songs and that the atmosphere sometimes get too melancholic. But compared to my previous experiences, I find the album much better now. I can more clearly see the beauty in the songs and it’s easier to see each song’s own character. Probably, I will listen to it more in the future than I have in the past.

According to John Campbell there is a third album with It's immaterial recorded, House for Sale. But no record company was interested since they found it too dark. So if there’s someone out there with the ambition of starting a record company, make us a favor and release this third album. OK?

Tracklist

Side A

1. New Brighton

2. Endless Holiday

3. An Ordinary Life

4. Heaven Knows

5. In The Neighbourhood

 

Side B

1. Missing

2. Homecoming

3. Summer Winds

4. Life On The Hill

5. Your Voice