Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Talk About The Weather

For a substantial chunk of the '80s, the City of Leeds was a reliable exporter of the darker side of life. Whether this was down to proletarian dissatisfaction, the effects of Thatcherism or simply due to a preponderance of drum machines stuck on heavy reverb settings, we may never know. The Lorries tended to be dogged by Joy Division comparisons rather than the usual questions about occult interest, but a few bars of Talk About The Weather quickly reveals why their brand of beat-heavy gloom was ushered beneath the tattered wings of Goth. Claustrophobia reigns supreme, choking any moments of space and silence before they have the chance to expand. Every second is comprehensively smothered by an echoing snare-snap, or the wide, murky guitar washes which practically swamp each track. Lyrically, the record richly mines the irony of titles such as “Happy” in order to explore the chillier sides of human interaction and dabble in moderate doses of existential angst. As a result, this is one weather discussion devoid of sunshine.

The Lorries' first full album kicks off with the grinding title track, steady, not punishing, but still aggressive and Chris Reed's abrupt but not shouted vocals. Keeping that in mind, Talk About the Weather has more going on for it than meets the eye. There's certainly more than a little ghost-of-Andrew Eldritch in the arrangements, not to mention Ennio Morricone (thus trumping the Fields of the Nephilim's own twist on that influence by a couple of years), but Reed's lyrics and singing definitely show the Ian Curtis touch more in their emotional roil as opposed to Hammer horror. As a result, compared to the Sex Gang Children or the like, the Lorries come across more straightforwardly, their music here sounding often brusque. The album's downside is that the basic sound doesn't really change much, but when it's on, as with the title track, it's very much on. "Hollow Eyes" is another one of the winners, taking the high-speed, nervous post-punk approach and adding on a great, simple, but effective chorus to the spiralling riffs and the hollow bass lope, while the sudden shift in velocity on "Strange Dreams" shows a great sense of drama. "Sometimes" ranks up there as well for being the secret winner (it's the closest the album gets to a quiet and tender love song, which it really isn't per se). But Reed's singing aims at a warmer approach here on the chorus, as does the music, and there's definitely a tangled emotional interplay that comes through, love and hate in a few words.

With all the pops and crackles, it is obvious that every track is mastered from vinyl. The music is brutal. The Lorries were the best band to come out of Goth ground zero (Leeds/Bradford area) in the 1980's, and were to say the least, uncompromising. More like the Doors on speed, than anything else. One last gripe the gravestone marker on the front cover ruins the sleeve.

So, ripped from the now deleted 2005 “Goth” reissue to MP3

Red Lorry Yellow Lorry; Talk About The Weather

1.      Talk About The Weather

2.      Hand On Heart

3.      Feel A Piece

4.      Hollow Eyes

5.      This Today

6.      Sometimes

7.      Strange Dream

8.      Happy

9.      Beating My Head

10.   I’m Still Waiting

11.   Take It All

12.   Happy (Single Version)

13.   He’s Read

14.   See The Fire

15.   Monkeys On Juice

16.   Push

17.   Silence

18.   Hollow Eyes (12” Version)

19.   Russia