English alternative rock/shoegaze band Pale Saints were formed in 1987 in Leeds by singer-bassist Ian Masters, guitarist Graeme Naysmith and drummer Chris Cooper. Initially influenced by Primal Scream’s early sound. But by the time they recorded their first EP, “Barging Into the Presence of God”, released in 1989, the band went into a direction that displayed a mix of Ian Masters’ ethereal, choirboy-like vocals along with dark and atmospheric and noisy pop. As the band developed, their unique strain of dream pop by synthesizing elements of connected bygone movements such as West Coast psychedelia, the paisley underground, and the C-86,movement applying avant-folk, pure pop, and spectral post-punk advancements.
The band was signed to 4AD Records after their first London show by the label’s chief Ivo Watts-Russell. Their three albums of increasing scope and sprawl, “The Comforts of Madness” (1990), “In Ribbons” (1992), and “Slow Buildings” (1994), left lasting imprints.
That July, the trio, joined by the Edsel Auctioneer’s Ashley Horner on second guitar, recorded a BBC session for John Peel’s program.
Barging Into The Presence Of God EP
The first release by Pale Saints making their 4AD debut was the “Barging Into The Presence Of God” EP from September 1989 and two songs from this EP ended up in the Peels Festive Fifty. “Sight Of You” a heartsick ballad showcasing Masters’ chorister-like voice is a mid tempo throbbing monster, so simple yet very powerful, guitars arpeggiate around two chords and there’s an element of uncontrolled chaos. And above it all, Ian Masters sings like a heartsore angel, lyrics which cut to the teenage condition of love so perfectly.
“She Rides The Waves” is faster, just as simple musically, only a few chords, but crashes like the titular waves – guitars spit and rage, drums are hammered, and it’s a speedy rush of joy. The third song on the EP can’t compete and settles for atmosphere over melody, but two classics out of three songs isn’t too bad a start to a career.
The Comforts Of Madness (30th Anniversary Remaster)
Signed to 4AD Records by the label’s chief Ivo Watts-Russell. The group’s first album, “The Comforts of Madness”, released in February 1990, On the eve of a post-Thatcherite Britain, the Pale Saints, alongside the likes of Lush, Ride and Slowdive, were ushering in a new wave of British indie. And in 4AD Records, they found a perfect home for their music – an exciting & undeniable meld of noise and dream-pop.
Their debut album, “The Comforts of Madness”, didn’t disappoint, now standing as one of the best of its era. Pitchfork placed it in their Best 50 Shoegaze Albums Of All Time saying, “There’s a restless urgency, particularly when the volume swells and the rhythms intensify. That energy not only keeps (it) vital, it emphasizes Pale Saints’ inventiveness, how they channelled softness and rage into something distinctive.”
That rare thing, a debut so perfectly formed that anything else the band releases pales in comparison. Every song is a gem, there isn’t a moment wasted across the forty one minutes, even the silences between songs are filled with little noises and extracts of melodies (an idea stolen by My Bloody Valentine a year later on Loveless). And the songs are wonderful, each and every one. From the powerful one two opening punch of “Way The World Is” and “You Tear The World In Two“, through the dreamy atmospherics of “A Deep Sleep For Steven” and “Sea Of Sound“, across the perfect guitar pop of Language Of Flowers and Insubstantial … Even the sped up cover of Opal’s “Fell From The Sun” fits the album neatly.
“Time Thief” closes “The Comforts Of Madness” perfectly – sometimes slow, quiet and foreboding, other times loud, fast and melodic, the tempo speeds up and slows down as the tension rises, guitars and drums hammering to a noisy climax. The song is like a microcosm of the whole album – the off kilter sound the band make, the shifts in tempo, dropped bars, the stops and starts, the swerves into dissonance, the peculiar logic that makes these songs so special. And over it all Ian Masters continues to sing odd words in his high choirboy-like voice, slightly disturbing words. The album hangs together beautifully and should be in any self respecting indie rock fan’s record collection.
The album includes the Opal cover version of “Fell from the Sun” . The Sunday Times called it “an unintended indie manifesto: music that is at once wayward and concise, dissonant and beautiful.”
The debut, a Top 40 U.K. hit upon release, is particularly well-regarded, and was expanded and recirculated by 4AD records in January 2020, 4AD released a remastered and expanded 30th anniversary edition including the Peel session and an album’s worth of demos.
Half Life EP
The EP of four new songs the Chris Allison produced, “Half-Life”, came out that October, by which point the band was a quartet with the addition of Meriel Barham, An original member of Lush strongly recommended by that band’s Miki Berenyi. Barham not only contributed to Pale Saints’ song writing process but also shared lead vocal duties with Masters, Barham contributed backing vocals and guitars to “Half-Life” EP, then joined permanently for the Nancy Sinatra cover “Kinky Love”, which gave the band a minor hit single as part of “Flesh Balloon” EP.
The title track, “Half Life Remembered”, pounds along on a rhythm section slightly derived from Soon by My Bloody Valentine, with a vocal melody slightly derived from Joybringer by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (itself derived from Gustav Holst’s Jupiter from The Planets). Regardless of the derivation, its a rattling little song, and the rest of the EP showed new directions too. “Two Sick Sisters” was pure uneasy atmosphere, crackle and noises too dim to ascertain. “A Revelation” was a skewed pop song with waves of guitar noise, but best of all was “Baby Maker“. This was Pale Saints in excelsis; guitars as loud as bombs, drums crashing here and there, a chord sequence which swerved when it should go straight, a song with so many twists it’s hard to keep up, and where the hell did those tympani drums in the middle eight come from? And somewhere within, Masters sings “The only way is down” as if he’s secretly relishing the prospect of imminent failure.
Ian Masters left the band in 1993, citing his lack of enthusiasm for touring, unlike the remaining members of the band and their record label 4AD. Former Heart Throbs bassist Colleen Browne joined afterwards.
The Flesh Balloon EP
This would be their only release of 1991, “The Flesh Balloon” EP. It starts with six and a half minutes of pure unrest named “Hunted“, a song in 5/8 time just to confuse anyone who may be attempting to dance to the song. That’s unusual enough, but Masters’ lyrics are dark too – threats, strange laughter, nothing is clear but it’s not happy. And the band match that feeling, leading to a second half where Masters sings peculiar harmonies in the middle distance while a synth plays a forbidding melody and the drums turn martial until the song fades into a sea of echoes.
Next was “Porpoise“, an instrumental which builds on a simple drum machine and bass guitar loop, adding insistent drums, chiming keyboards and rocking guitars – but while it progresses, it doesn’t seem to resolve in any way. Then there’s “Kinky Love”, a cover of a Nancy Sinatra song sung by Barham
Meriel Barham, joined the band permanently for the Nancy Sinatra cover of “Kinky Love”, which gave the band a minor hit single as part of “Flesh Balloon” EP.
Finally the EP closed with a demo of a song called “Hair Shoes” which did have the tension and edge lacking in “Kinky Love”. A phalanx of hovering mandolin styled guitars, another guitar like a two note siren and Masters singing quietly and scared.
In Ribbons (Expanded 30th Anniversary Reissue)
The band recorded their second full-length album, “In Ribbons”, A farther-ranging set with some of the band’s most powerful, wraithlike, and hypnotic songs. Released in the U.K. in March 1992,
Having previously worked well with producer Hugh Jones (Echo and The Bunnyman, Modern English, The Sound), he did a brilliant job recording their second album, “In Ribbons” despite some studio tensions. Brooklyn Vegan said in a recent celebration of the album that it was the “push and pull between Masters’ outsider tendencies and (the rest’s) commercial interests that makes “In Ribbons” so good. If some of the wild, ragged edges of “Comforts of Madness” have been smoothed off, the album makes up for it with scope and beauty. And there’ still no shortage of weird.”
squealing guitars and the linking pieces between songs have disappeared. There’s also still plenty of odd time signatures, dropped beats and off kilter rhythms, not least in the assured album opener “Throwing Back The Apple” which can’t decide which direction to go in, but still packs a punch, as does Ordeal. Then, “Thread Of Light” derails the train. It is Barham’s first lead vocal on the album and while the song is pleasant enough, it lacks the twists and turns which had made the previous two songs so thrilling. This happens over and over; a string of songs set up a dark mood then it is spoiled by a Barham song. There’s nothing wrong with her songs, but they stand out amongst the main album and they jar the flow of the record. But when the record is good, it is fantastic. “Shell” is a ballad that makes the nerves tingle, cellos and acoustic guitar and xylophones and chord sequences that swerve in all the right places.
The closing three songs work beautifully together – “Never Ending Night” sounds like a tribute to Fleetwood Mac’s Albatross, “Featherframe” is a Barham song which fits in well with the album, more martial drums and a return to noise, while “A Thousand Stars Burst Open” is a glorious closer, as richly textured as Cocteau Twins, euphoric yet melancholic too.
During the late 80s and early 90s there was a trend amongst indie bands to include a free 7 inch single with their vinyl albums, and Pale Saints were no exception to this. However they made a slightly different free single – rather than recording two more songs, they asked the Tintwistle Brass Band to arrange and record two Pale Saints songs. These versions of A Revelation and A Thousand Stars Burst Open are really rather special – they highlight the melodic beauty of Pale Saints’ songs but also give a glimpse of an alternate universe, where shoegazing meets traditional Yorkshire music. A unique record by a unique combination of talents.
If Pale Saints were one-step-ahead they might’ve been coping 91’s ‘loveless’, but instead they were returning to the icy dream pop landscapes of 88’s ‘isn’t anything’. somewhere between Sarah Records jangle-pop and Sonic Youth noise pop, ‘In Ribbons’ offers a buffet of the sleepy, gasoline-huffin’ rock. songs like ‘shell’ and ‘hunted’ are delicate and haunted, yet contain a great hook to keep your interest and keep you coming back, much in the same way of the Breeders.
Missing its original release date last year due to Covid delays and a production plant in meltdown, “In Ribbons” finally gets the 30th Anniversary celebration it deserves with a special double LP / CD release – the first disc being the UK version of the album, the second a bonus disc of never before heard demos (including their first attempt at Slapp Happy’s ‘Blue Flower’ and Ian’s 4 track recording of ‘Kinky Love’) and two brass band versions by The Tintwistle Band.
Coming in a beautiful gatefold sleeve, the limited double LP edition is being pressed on unpigmented vinyl by The Vinyl Factory in West London. A single disc, black vinyl version is also released.
After a perfunctory release of “Throwing Back The Apple” as a single (featuring a cover of Slapp Happy’s “Blue Flower” which the band had been playing live for over a year), Pale Saints disappeared.
Dissatisfied artistically, Ian Masters left the band in 1993, citing his lack of enthusiasm for touring, unlike the remaining members of the band and their record label 4AD. The Heart Throbs’ Bass player Colleen Browne joined shortly afterwards. effectively replaced Masters on bass, while Barham stepped to the fore.
Fine Friend EP
Sticking with producer Hugh Jones, the group released the “Fine Friend” EP in mid-1994, followed by their third album, “Slow Buildings”, Pale Saints’ final LP, alternated between succinct, driving pop and sprawling balladry.
There have been few calls for Pale Saints to reform, but you never can tell these days. In the meantime, their music is still available, still likely to shock (you will never forget your first listen to “The Colour Of The Sky”, an uncredited fifth song on the “Half-Life” EP) and still thrilling to hear.
The last Pale Saints concert was on June 14th, 1996 at 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., United States.
Check out the “Mrs. Dolphin” A Japanese release containing “Barging Into the Presence of God” and the “Half-Life” EPs with the tracks “Colours and Shapes” and “A Deeper Sleep for Steven”
Their final studio recording was a version of Tom Waits “Jersey Girl” released on the tribute album “Step Right Up. Meriel Barham departed in September 1995, and the group eventually disbanded in 1996.
Guitarist Graeme Naysmith died on 4th April 2024.
Studio albums:
- The Comforts of Madness (February 1990) UK #40
- In Ribbons (March 1992) UK #61[7]
- Slow Buildings (August 1994)
Compilation albums
- Mrs. Dolphin (10 Jan 1991), A Japanese release containing Barging Into the Presence of God and the Half-Life EPs with the tracks “Colours and Shapes” and “A Deeper Sleep for Steven”
Singles/EPs/demos
- “Children Break” (1988)
- Barging Into the Presence of God EP (September 1989)
- Half-Life EP (October 1990), 12″ contains a bonus spoken-word track “Colour of the Sky”
- Kinky Love (1991)
- Flesh Balloon EP (June 1991)
- “Porpoise” (1991)
- “Throwing Back the Apple” (May 1992)
- Fine Friend EP (August 1994)
- “Fine Friend” (1994), US promo including “One Blue Hill” live acoustic @ KCRW
- “Angel (Will You Be My)” (1995), US promo
thanks to Toppermost for some words
The Fat Angel Sings 