About Script Of The Bridge (1983)
Strength and coherence emerge from this album. It must be said that the band from the Manchester region has two exceptional guitarists in the person of Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding. They don't hesitate to launch into bombastic ramblings, playing on atmospheres, an epic shot, a revenge shot. They are the first to give their melodic line a magical side that will set a precedent. They counterbalance the anxieties of Mark Burgess, the tortured leader. The latter, with its crude lyrics (“There's no eden anyway”, “I must die a thousand times” or “I'm less than human in God's eye”), navigates in troubled waters.On “As High As You Can Go”, he repeats his mantra with conviction, supported by a supple, regular and fast rhythmic, while a soft piano highlights a vague dreamlike note in the background, as well as on “Up The Down Escalator” during which he sings gravely. At other times, he lets himself go, loses his vigor, breathes more, complains in a bombastic way, fades under keyboards or those guitars worked by goldsmiths, like the finale of “Second Skin”.
The group shows character. So much so that they fell out with their first label after only a few singles, refusing to bow to the marketing game, even if it meant getting fired. OK for post-punk but on condition that it's according to their rules. And we discover that they actually want to offer an album that is not an end in itself or a collection of hits, but a gateway or a simple stimulus of anxiety. The effect is striking from “Don't Fall”, which starts with a scream, a sharp and sharp riff, a rhythm that takes you by the throat.
Like this enigmatic cover, designed by Smithies himself, like a transcription of the dream of an insane person who thinks he is Salvador Dalí, we don't know if there is hope at the end of this endless road. The most biting tracks, such as “A Person Isn't Safe Anywhere These Days”, solemn and declamatory, can end in a vaporous way with a few jolts on the tam-tam and some enchanting guitar ghosts. This album concludes with “View From A Hill”, slowed down, celestial and almost rested.
Browse all Songs and Lyrics published on Script Of The Bridge (1983)