Aah, the 80's...What a great time to be a teenager, moping around dressed in black and looking miserable, listening to songs with lyrics like "Here are the young men, the weight on their shoulders" played loud at dark smoky bars while clutching some alcoholic drink. Some will tell you that the 80's were shit, but we had some great music and a cool lifestyle - with no social media and no lifestyle magazines to dictate how to be cool you never worried about your image outside a tiny circle of friends. During our parents' lifetime the country managed to raise itself above poverty, and we got to enjoy the freedom that followed the liberation from the colonels' dictatorship and relative affluence after entering the E.U. Which made our generation the first of Greece's spoiled youths. With such a bright future seemingly ahead, it's no wonder we found refuge in dark and depressing music like that of The Cure, Siouxsie, Bauhaus, and less renowned groups like Red Lorry Yellow Lorry.
Musically, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry are the perfect embodiment of what we think of as Goth: Lyrics every bit as "life-affirming" as Joy Division, deep booming bass, sharp guitar riffs, and dark, menacing vocals reminiscent of early Sisters Of Mercy. The music is faster and punkier than that of most of their peers, made to be played loud. It isn't devoid of melody but neither does it have the hooks to cross over to a wider audience. So, despite initial good sales, their debut album was destined to become something of a cult classic, only getting re-released twice: a limited CD run and a small numbered vinyl edition for Record Store Day 2018 (500 copies, mine is nr.221). This reissue has the added value of including their first two singles, originally released in 1982/1983. The A-sides ("Beating My Head" and "Take It All", also reviewed here) sound more like early Joy Division. Of the B-sides, "I'm Still Waiting" is an anomaly for R.L.Y.L. with its sax solos and occasionally funky bass while "Happy" also incorporates those elements but is generally more aggressive, reminiscent of Killing Joke. The LP version of "Happy" omits the sax and gives an overall bleaker impression. Generally the original LP deviates from Joy Division-like postpunk towards Goth. The augmented reissue is of normal length, but the original album may be considered too short (8 songs, less than 30 minutes). On the other hand every song is a winner, and given the repetitive relentless rhythm one may argue that it is exactly the right duration. Arguably the centerpiece is single "Hollow Eyes" exhibiting what I've previously described in this blog as music for werewolf discos. "This Today" is a similarly rhythmical piece, while "Feel A Piece" is a fast-paced song with half-recited vocals and "Talk About The Weather" is reminiscent of that other Leeds group, Sisters Of Mercy. It's as gloomy as I imagine Leeds weather must be to produce groups like these. "Sometimes" is a mid-tempo piece evocative or Pornography-era Cure, as is "Strange Dream" - at least until dramatically picking up pace halfway through the song. For those who discovered Goth in the 00s: forget all that poser emo shit, here's the real deal!
***** for Talk About The Weather, Hollow Eyes, Beating My Head, This Today
**** for Hand On Heart, Feel A Piece, Sometimes, Happy, Happy(Single Version)
*** for I'm Still Waiting, Strange Dream, Take It All
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