Lowlife - Permanent Sleep

Released in Scotland in 1986 by the independent music record label Nightshift Records, Permanent Sleep is Lowlife’s debut long player. Part of the sheer confidence audible throughout doubtless derives from the experience most of the group already had under its belt; singer Craig Lauritson, guitarist Stuart Everest, and drummer Grant McDowell had already been playing together in Dead Neighbours, while bassist Will Heggie had already gained fame as one of the original Cocteau Twins. Their working together proved to be lightning in a bottle, with Lauritson's dramatic but inviting croon and Everest's guitar heroics contrasting perfectly with the steady, powerful rhythm section. As strong as Rain is, Permanent Sleep might even be more so, with any number of songs rivalling the contemporaneous efforts on that landmark of '80s U.K. rock, the Chameleons' Strange Times. The dark, almost waltz-time swing of "Cowards Way," which leads off the album is the first of eight uniformly fine tracks. If a similarity in pace makes them all blend into each other a bit too much, the individual flair of Lauritson and Everest helps make each more distinct, from the gentler chime of "Wild Swan" to the more openly heroic "Permanent Sleep." A number of songs hint back to Heggie's Cocteau days in particular "Mother Tongue" but are transformed into a different atmosphere thanks to Lauritson's singing.

Eight tracks ripped from the album to permanent MP3 @ 320kbps

Lowlife; Permanent Sleep

A1.  Coward’s Way

A2.  As It Happens

A3.  Mother Tongue

A4.  Wild Swan

B1.  Permanent Sleep

B2.  A Year Past July

B3.  The Betting And Gaming Act 1964

B4.  Do We Party