Compilations are usually either a cynical exploitative cash in or an
impassioned round up of a key artists career, giving folk a rounded appraisal of
a forgotten body of great work. There's not many defunct groups that I haven't
by the age of 34 had the chance to enjoy or be utterly blown away by. The older
I get, the less new guitar music thrills me. Fair do's, let the kids have their
fun but what I want is music that rattles my head, sinks it's teeth in &
won't let go. I wallow in the post punk/new wave scene of the late 70s to the
early 80s cos it gives me all the thrills I crave. Nothing prepared me for the
absolute genius that is ARTERY though. Saw some footage of them on a
Plexifilm documentary about the Sheffield post punk boom & I was transfixed.
Wiry, off kilter rhythms CHECK, manic possessed singer CHECK,
itchy
tribal, clattering drum patterns CHECK, winding, creepy bass CHECK.
We've got this compilation called 'Afterwards' on Spinney & it fucking rocks
from start to finish. I can't get enough. I can't believe the guitarist ended up
in The Mission for Christ's sake. All I can say is if you love Joy Division,
early Wire, Magazine & Pulp (yes. PULP - Jarvis was obsessed with them,
& Peel was a huge fan) then you have to buy this astonishing album. The
songs are very evocative & original. Every tune is a lost classic, the
running order blends the evolving styles beautifully as they became more classy
& baroque (that's where the Magazine - minus the hilarious prog wibblings - &
Pulp comparisons come in. I don't
think 'His & Hers' would have sounded anything like it was were it not for
this bunch of darkly strange & delicious misfits) Made up of early singles, Peel
session tracks, 6 brilliant unreleased demos & a couple of class album cuts,
'Afterwards' is a perfect starting point for my new obsession. I now
want everything they've ever done because they make my heart burst. I don't know
who to thank for this but it's made my month. Album of the week my friends. CD
only
Love this record? Hate it? Tell us.
What their label says...
We're delighted to announce that the forthcoming release of the long-delayed compilation of early material from Artery entitled “Afterwards – Recordings From 1979-1983”.
Jarvis Cocker of Pulp had this to say of the band “Once I’d seen Artery that was it. I knew what I wanted to do. I’d never seen anything like that before and I probably haven’t seen it since really. There was the whole intensity of it and that idea that anything could happen,” on the effect of seeing Artery perform for the first time in 1980.
Artery are one of the most unsung of all the Sheffield bands to emerge from the post-punk era. At that time the city was a hotbed of creative activity, with the punk movement having broken down the barriers, leaving room for new and original ideas. Artery were certainly original - unique even - the evidence of which is amply displayed on this compilation of some of the band’s finest moments.
They were to become one of the most important bands on the Sheffield scene for the best part of a decade.
John Peel was a fan of the band and invited them to record two sessions for his Radio 1 show. So impressed were the band by the results they achieved at Maida Vale that some of the tracks were included in the mini-album Oceans and are included here.
Compiled by Simon Hinkler from the band (and later of The Mission), this album includes all the early singles Mother Moon, Unbalanced, Cars In Motion ; The Clown, most of the Oceans mini-album and the excellent and never-previously released INPUT Studios demos. Please do not confuse this album with the recent Cherry Red release “Into The Garden” which was not sanctioned by the band and, confusingly, seemed to have been originally entitled “Afterwards – A Collection”.
Available as a strictly limited edition utilizing the themes of the original artwork of the singles and mini-album, this is the introduction to one of the UK’s most innovative and intense groups of the past twenty years.
