285) The The - Mind Bomb

Matt Johnson had sold himself to me and to many others with Soul Mining and Infected. He was a one-man band for these records calling on people when needed but the big news for Mind Bomb was that The The were an actual band with Julian Cope’s bassist James Eller coming in on bass, Ex ABC member Dave Palmer on drums and some guy called Johnny Marr who had been in a small beat combo called The Smiths.

When I first heard the lead single The Beat(en) Generation I was initially disappointed as found it quite flimsy, I still bought it as Johnny Marr was working with Matt Johnson, come on. It slowly worked its magic on me. Marr’s guitar is upbeat and melodic and his harmonica at the end of the chorus lodges in your head and you cannot wait for it to return. Gloriously simple but effective.

The album opens with a call to prayers and Good Morning Beautiful employs a single piano and the song and the tension slowly builds before Matt arrives over two minutes in with horns and harmonica intermittent, its claustrophobic and Johnson sounds like a preacher despairing at the world, what a start.

Armageddon Days Palmer leads us in before Johnson asks “Are you ready Jesus? Buddha? Mohammad? Well alright fellas let’s go” Although a serious song with a haunting chorus of Islam rising and Christians mobilising there is a playfulness to this tune, but the sentiments of this song are as relevant today as when it was released “that the human race is about to reap what it’s sown.” How apt.

A storm welcomes us into Kingdom of Rain and a perfectly strummed guitar, this is a duet between Matt and Sinead O’Connor about a failed relationship, Johnson holds his own but it’s at times like this you realise what a talent O’Connor was, what a voice, what a loss.

August & September has woodwind instruments as again a relationship is ending with a haunting and effective piano. Gravitate to Me the only co-write with Marr on this record is nearly eight minutes long all effect pedals, industrial noise, and a nagging effective riff from Marr.

We end with Beyond Love, an uplifting tune I would say with an upbeat chorus and the guitar two minutes in is sublime.

Whenever I listen to a The The album, I am instantly reminded of how bloody good they were and how annoying that Johnston did not release a The The album for twenty-four years. Maybe he just couldn’t do it, but I would have loved another three or four The The records.

8/10

GIVE IT A STREAM: Armageddon Days (Are Here Again}