There comes a time, a really rare time, when an important band comes along that everyone should know about, especially if it is one that you’ve never heard of, one so underground (especially in America) and so amazing that you wonder why it slipped under the radar for so long in the first place. That is where the British band Cardiacs comes in.
Cardiacs was formed in 1977, originally known as Cardiac Arrest, which featured Colvin Mayers who would later join the Sound. They were a terrifically unique blend of punk and prog, coining the genre term PRONK. Imagine a mixture of the Toy Dolls and Gentle Giant/Zappa and independent music, you would be halfway there with what they sounded like. They made some of the most original music that no one else was coming close to making. When they became Cardiacs in 1981 after a few EPs and a live album, they didn’t release a full length debut until 1988.
Here, though, we are reviewing Cardiacs’ second album, the magnificent On Land and In the Sea, which was released in 1989 on their very own Alphabet Business Concern imprint. The 13-song album features a strong collection of complex song structures of tempo changes and time signatures with unpredictable shifts that you would not normally find in 1980s UK independent music. The classic six-piece lineup featured percussion from the late Tim Quy, piano/keyboards from William D. Drake, and staccato saxophone stylings by Sarah Smith, playing to the late leader Tim Smith’s unparalleled songwriting. The placement of the lyrics makes it hard to sing along (let alone decode Tim’s cryptic lyrics), but you can still do wonders to make people feel emotionally moved to a 6/8 time signature song and have it imprinted on your skull, such as in the case of the complicated ‘The Everso Closely Guarded Line,’ complex music/lyrics or not. There’s the very energetic and fast-paced ‘The Duck and Roger the Horse’ with an almost cut-and-paste composition that changes and stays in place while also being cathartic in such a fun way.
This album got a recent vinyl remaster (available on black or blue colored vinyl) from ABC, the first since its original 1989 release, giving fans a renewed listening experience with this epic album that has not been replicated. It’s worth buying, of course, even if it’s available as an import and not easily available domestically, because this is music that demands a permanent place in your collection and constant rotation. And I challenge you to find anything this great. Mr. Bungle? Tool? Black Midi? Marillion? Even with all those combined, you’re still only halfway there. That’s how important this band truly is.
Review by Moe Staiano
