The March Violets – The Palace Of Infinite Darkness (Album – Jungle Records)
Genre/Influences: Post-Punk, Dark-Wave.
Format: Digital, 5CD Box.
Background/Info: This massive box brings me back to the golden 80s era of Post-Punk and Dark-Wave music. There was a great scene in Leeds featuring bands like The Sisters Of Mercy, Gang Of Four, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and many others. The March Violets were still from Leeds and belong to the collective memory of all Post-Punk fans. This box features a first disc with the “Complete Singles 1982-85”, one with “Extended Versions & Eras”, “another with “BBC Recordings 1982-84”, one with “Unreleased Rarities 1982-84” and a last one featuring “Unreleased Rarities 1985-87”.
Content: The music of The March Violets brings us back to this legendary formation. The sound was characterized by guitar, bass guitar and a rhythm box (just like The Sisters Of Mercy). The vocals were mixing male vocals together with female backings. They had a very specific and recognizable sound which was into pure Post-Punk with some extra Rock elements on top. This is an opportunity to (re)discover the band’s most famous hits like “Religious As Hell”, “Walk Into The Sun”, “Lights Go Out”, “Snake Dance”, “Fodder”, “Children On Stun” and much more.
+ + + : This is a great, artistic Box bringing The March Violets alive. They indeed announced new live shows and even new songs for this year. But this is a way to get back to the early years and the way it all started. You maybe don’t know Andrew Eldritch released their official debut single “Religious As Hell”. I like this band for their unique sound and the great complementarity between male- and female vocals. The first disc is the most essential one but the other ones feature interesting passages like live tracks & BBC live recordings for the famous John Peel sessions, alternative- and extended versions.
– – – : On the long run you get the same songs again and again.
Conclusion: This band entered into history quite a long time ago and I’m wondering what they will bring on stage after all these years.
Best songs: “Religious As Hell”, “Walk Into The Sun”, “Lights Go Out”, “Snake Dance”, “Fodder”, “Children On Stun”, “Grooving In Green”.
Rate: 8.
Artist: www.facebook.com/marchvioletsband
Label: www.jungle-records.com / www.facebook.com/JungleRecords
About The March Violets
The March Violets formed in December 1981 in Leeds, England, with Tom Ashton (guitar), Laurence “Loz” Elliot (bass), Simon “Detroit” Denbigh (vocals) and Rosie Garland (vocals), backed by a drum machine nicknamed “Dr. Rhythm”. Fellow Leeds figure Andrew Eldritch, lead singer of The Sisters Of Mercy, released the band’s debut 7”, the four-track “Religious as Hell” EP, on his Merciful Release label on 28 August 1982, followed by the single “Grooving in Green” on 27 November 1982. The band then launched its own Rebirth label, releasing “Crow Baby” on 30 April 1983. Cleo Murray joined as a second female vocalist for “Snake Dance” (December 1983); after Garland’s departure, Murray became sole female singer for “Walk Into the Sun” (4 August 1984). The compilation “Natural History” followed in October 1984, collecting the first four singles plus two tracks from a 1983 BBC Peel Session. Denbigh left in February 1985, shortly before the band’s first American tour, though he still appears on the single “Deep” (11 May 1985). A second compilation, “Electric Shades”, was issued in the US by Relativity Records in 1985. The band then signed to London Records, adding drummer Andy Tolson, and released the single “Turn to the Sky” on 24 February 1986, which was later featured, alongside a cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Miss Amanda Jones”, on the soundtrack to the 1987 film “Some Kind of Wonderful”. In 1993, Jungle Records released the band’s first CD compilation, “The Botanic Verses”, covering their 1982-1984 catalogue. The band reformed 25 years after forming, touring the UK, USA and Europe and recording new material through Pledge Music, before that phase ended in 2016 due to illness. The March Violets reunited again in 2022, and Jungle Records marked the moment with the 5CD box set “The Palace Of Infinite Darkness”, gathering the complete singles, extended versions, BBC recordings and unreleased rarities from 1982 to 1987.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
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