Pauline Murray - Elemental

Elemental (2020) is the third solo album by Pauline Murray, the influential frontwoman of the punk band Penetration. Released after a 31-year hiatus from solo recording, the album represents a sharp artistic evolution, moving away from her punk roots toward a mature, atmospheric synth-pop sound. Critics widely praise the record for its sonic diversity, which seamlessly blends heavy, hypnotic keyboard arrangements with intimate acoustic instrumentation. Driven by Murray's signature ethereal vocals—which reviewers note remain as compelling and undimmed as ever—the tracklist navigates a rich, melodic landscape that balances contemporary electronic textures with timeless indie songwriting.

Thematically, the album is a deeply personal and melancholic exploration of human relationships, social conformity, and emotional vulnerability. Tracks like "Secrets" and "After All" delve into the complexities of intimacy and personal struggle, while pieces like "Missing" offer poignant reflections on loss. Music journals like Louder Than War and ThePunkSite celebrated the release as a masterful "class act" and a powerful affirmation of Murray's enduring talent. Ultimately, Elemental stands as a cohesive, finely crafted artistic statement that successfully bridges the gap between her historical musical legacy and a modern, contemplative pop sensibility.

Pauline Murray - Storm Clouds

After the first album with the Invisible Girls, Pauline Murray released a 10” single “Searching For Heaven” and then the record label went bust. Having absconded from her home turf of Newcastle, Murray and her boyfriend Robert Blamire (Bass – Penetration) moved to Toxteth, Liverpool and the riots started a week later. Murray and Balmire started working on some demos that they could pedal around the slightly more receptive records labels, nothing came of them. Halfway through singing a song, Murray decided that was enough and she walked out of the studio. Murray didn't want to do this anymore; she couldn’t face the next phase of looking for a deal and turned her back on it all. Almost three years later the couple had moved back to Newcastle and went to see Chrysalis music publishers, who they had been signed with as songwriters during the Invisible Girls period. Murray committed to working on another set of songs and in that session worked on the Big Star track “Holocaust”. Released as a single in 1984 on their own record label, Polestar, it promptly disappeared without a trace. Feeling ever more confident writing, Murray and Balmire moved forward and managed to release some recordings under the monikers of Pauline Murray And The Saint or Pauline Murray And The Storm. This was the mid to late 80’s, no one was interested. Finally putting a band together to finish recording and release the Storm Clouds album in 1989. Now before you jump ahead and start franticly clicking the download link be warned, this is a pop album. Albeit it is a Pauline Murray pop album and that in itself should count for something, believe me, it doesn’t. This is a hard to find album because of its origins in the world of small indie labels, so for the mad daft collectors out there, click away!