Pale Saints - Half-Life, Remembered (1991)

Pale Saints were formed in 1987 in Leeds by singer-bassist Ian Masters, guitarist Graeme Naysmith and drummer Chris Cooper. The group began as a jangly indie pop band influenced by Primal Scream's early sound, as can be heard on their 1988 demo tape, and circulation of the demos resulted in their first single 'Children Break' being released on a flexi-disc in the summer of 1988. By the time they recorded their first EP 'Barging Into The Presence Of God' in 1989, the band had moved into a direction that displayed a mix of Ian Masters' choirboy-like vocals along with dark atmospheric pop tunes with a definite shoegaze feel to them. Ashley Horner from Edsel Auctioneer briefly joined the band on guitar in the same year, and after their first London show they were signed to 4AD Records, who released their first EP to some acclaim. The band's debut album 'The Comforts Of Madness' came out the following year, and was another success for them, reaching the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart. In late 1990 the original vocalist of Lush, Meriel Barham, joined the band as second guitarist and vocalist, and contributed backing vocals and guitars to their second EP 'Half-Life'. Another EP followed in 1991 with 'Flesh Balloon', and in 1992 the band recorded their second full-length album 'In Ribbons', but a year after it was released Ian Masters left the band, and this was about the same time that I lost interest in them, as I felt that those early releases would not be bettered. Most of the songs from the EP's never appeared on their albums, and so this post collects all of those non-album tracks together, along with the John Peel session that they recorded in 1989, a couple of songs from the 1988 demo tape, and an otherwise unreleased song that they gifted to a 1988 compilation album. If you like what you hear then do check out the recent re-issues of their albums, as they were a great band, and deserve some belated recognition.   

Track listing

01 Wasting My Time (from the 'Some New Songs' demo tape 1988)
02 Children Break (from the 'Some New Songs' demo tape 1988)
03 Colours And Shapes (from the compilation album 'Are You Ready?' 1988)
04 She Rides The Waves (from the 'Barging Into The Presence Of God' EP 1989)
05 Mother Might (from the 'Barging Into The Presence Of God' EP 1989)
06 Half-Life Remembered (from the 'Half-Life' EP 1989)
07 Two Sick Sisters (from the 'Half-Life' EP 1989)
08 A Revelation (from the 'Half-Life' EP 1989)
09 The Colour Of The Sky (from the 'Half-Life' EP 1989)
10 Porpoise (from the 'Flesh Balloon' EP 1991) 
11 Kinky Love (from the 'Flesh Balloon' EP 1991) 
12 Hair Shoes (demo) (from the 'Flesh Balloon' EP 1991) 
13 She Rides The Waves  (John Peel session 1989)
14 You Tear The World In Two (John Peel session 1989)
15 Way The World Is (John Peel session 1989)
16 Time Thief (John Peel session 1989)