Thursday, October 16, 2008

The Rip - Complete Recordings (1984-1987)

The Rip was Alastair Galbraith's first band; formed along with Robbie Muir--later of the excellent Plagal Grind--and Jeff Harford of Bored Games, the trio released two EPs on Flying Nun in the mid 80s. I've collected them here for your listening convenience (and I hope enjoyment as well!) 1984's 'A Timeless Peace' and 1987's 'Stormed Port' are similar musically, showcasing Galbraith's delicate compositional gifts and songwriting ability. The Rip's recordings could be described as folk-inflected, Barrett-esque jangle-pop, featuring lovely, ethereal melodies accented by Galbraith's distinctively haunting violin. At times they are very reminiscent of the classical minimalism of the Verlaines' early singles and EPs, and that's always a good thing. Expect a veritable deluge of Xpressway-related material soon, Mr. Galbraith's work included, in addition to a thorough overview of that other very talented set of brothers, Graeme and Peter Jefferies.

Here is a very good interview with Alastair Galbraith in which he discusses the Rip, Xpressway, Plagal Grind, and much more. Enjoy!

- Ariel

Download

A Timeless Peace (1984)
- Holy Room
- De Reszke & Dylan
- Wow
- Up and Wow

Stormed Port (1987)
- River Chasm
- Starless Road
- Stormed Port
- Entropic Carol
- Wrecked We Hymn

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great great material you have here! Viva
New Zealand! Any chance you could post
the Pop Art Toasters' EP?
Thanks for the great info - keep it coming!

Anonymous said...

Thanx a lot for these! Since I've recently been listening to his later solo material it's interesting to follow his path backwards. Looking forward to the coming Xpressway material. Keep up the good work! It's appreciated!

Ariel said...

Pop Art Toasters EP I can do, no problem.

Unknown said...

I second the pop art toasters request! thanks for the great music.

icastico said...

One of my favorite artists. Thanks for this.

For you:
http://bendle.bandcamp.com/album/while-speaking-softly-you-can-hear-the-insects-sing

Fakharuddin40 said...

Adorable and Gorgeous! Really liked your post. Thanks for the nice and informative share.

Send flowers Pakistan

zuiop said...

Please re-up!

zuiop said...

@Ariel
Where can I find the Pop Art Toasters?