Young Marble Giants
Colossal Youth
(Domino Records)
November 27th
I've just been listening to I think it was Woman's Hour and there was something about how stalking has become endemic during the pandemic, and while that is terrifying, recently, with little to do with myself I did begin to wonder where Alison Stratton was now, but since I'd managed to misspell the name of the erstwhile singer from the incredible Young Marble Giants, I was too inept to find out, despite the radio show assuring me that that kind of thing is relatively easy to do. I did discover meanwhile, that at the end of November, the great, great Young Marble Giants 1980 LP, Colossal Youth, is being reissued by Domino Records.
Each component part of Young Marble Giants is just so exactly so. Alisson Statton's voice, Stuart Moxham's guitar, and Philip Moxham's bass. It's minimalistic, electronic and light. Like a musical Dan Flavin. Like if Haroon Mirza formed a band. Like the sound NASA scientists might make in a closet preparing for a long lost backwater youth club presentation. There never has been anything quite so delicately poised and presented as Colossal Youth, and all in the face of the ghouls of the post punk era.
The reissued double LP will be available in transparent Vinyl and will include a 28 Page lyric book featuring the drawings of Wendy Smith.
There's a DVD too with a compendium of material including the last ever Colossal Youth show at The Hurrah in New York in 1980.
Colossal Youth is so brilliant and unique it's difficult to write about, so I am going to stop here, oh, except to encourage you to go find a copy when it comes out.