The Comsat Angels - From Beyond 2

From Beyond 2 is a 2000 archival compilation album by The Comsat Angels, released through the definitive UK indie label Cherry Red Records. Subtitled "A Compilation 1987–1995," the 15-track anthology uniquely charts the secondary half of the Sheffield post-punk pioneers' turbulent career. In a famously perverse twist of music industry licensing, the label could only secure the rights to the band’s later catalog, meaning that From Beyond 2 paradoxically exists without ever having a From Beyond 1 predecessor. It bridges their studio output from late-period LPs, their ill-fated identity crisis under a corporate pseudonym, and rare posthumous solo ventures.

The album functions as a highly valuable retrospective of a band processing the changing sonic landscape of the late '80s and early '90s. Alongside highlights from their critically acclaimed late-career albums like My Mind’s Eye (1992) and The Glamour (1995), the disc rescues elusive rarities, such as a fierce cover of The Soft Boys. It rounds out its scope by including tracks from the group's post-breakup offshoots and solo projects, offering the most comprehensive, singular portrait available of the Comsats' final creative decade. Complete with historical liner notes and direct track commentary by frontman Stephen Fellows, it remains a thoroughly curated holy grail for alternative rock history.

To truly appreciate From Beyond 2, one must embrace it as a compelling document of survival. By the late 1980s, the stark, claustrophobic post-punk template that The Comsat Angels helped pioneer had been overtaken commercially by the bombast of stadium acts. Rather than folding under the weight of shifting trends, this compilation reveals a band that spent its final decade quietly mutating, preserving their signature gift for melancholic atmosphere while fearlessly absorbing elements of alternative rock, shoegaze, and indie pop.

The absolute centerpieces of the compilation are the tracks pulled from their highly underrated 1992 comeback album, My Mind’s Eye. The titular track "My Mind's Eye" and the soaring "Mystery Plane" showcase a masterful evolution, swapping out the starkness of their early Sheffield years for a layered, driving guitar sound that feels remarkably urgent. These cuts prove that Stephen Fellows' songwriting had lost none of its emotional gravity, anchoring the band’s changing textures with his characteristically earnest, yearning vocal delivery.

Where From Beyond 2 becomes a necessity for collectors is its dedication to unearthing rare peripheral materials. The inclusion of "Ice Sculpture" from their brief, label-forced tenure under the name Dream Command acts as a brilliant historical correction, allowing the track to stand proudly alongside their core discography. Furthermore, the album's undisputed crown jewel of rarities is a scorching cover of The Soft Boys’ "I Wanna Destroy You". Infused with roaring guitars and a dense, multi-tracked vocal hook, the song flashes a rare, aggressive sneer that proves the band could deliver raw rock power just as effectively as moody art-rock.

The record’s final quadrant takes a fascinating left turn by mapping out the debris of the band's mid-90s dissolution. Contributions like Stephen Fellows’ solo track "Waves" and the trip-hop-tinged "Not Yours" by Bacon & Quarmby illustrate exactly where the band members' minds were heading next. While this fragmented ending means the album doesn't carry the uniform narrative flow of a standard studio LP, it succeeds marvelously as a scholarly archive. It paints a vibrant portrait of an endlessly reliable band that prioritized musical integrity over mainstream personality, ensuring their final chapters were just as dignified as their beginnings.

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The 15 tracks compile official studio highlights, alternative identities, and post-band configurations:

1. A Sound – The Comsat Angels (0:30 snippet featuring the late-era lineup)

2. My Mind's Eye – The Comsat Angels

3. I Hear a New World – The Comsat Angels

4. Mystery Plane – The Comsat Angels

5. Always Near – The Comsat Angels

6. Ice Sculpture – Dream Command (From the rare 1990 project)

7. Goddess – The Comsat Angels

8. Valley of the Nile – The Comsat Angels (From the final album, The Glamour)

9. Venus Hunter – The Comsat Angels

10. Shiva Descending – The Comsat Angels

11. I Wanna Destroy You – The Comsat Angels (Soft Boys cover featuring additional guitarist Nick Robinson)

12. Sailor – The Comsat Angels

13. Waves – Steve Fellows (Post-breakup solo project track)

14. Not Yours – Bacon & Quarmby (Bassist Kevin Bacon's post-Comsats duo)

15. We Must Be Mad – Soup (Collaborative/offshoot project)