Customer Reviews

Clan Of Xymox

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Clan of Xymox was formed in 1983 in Amsterdam (Holland) playing gloomy, gothic, fast-beat analog Euro-dance/synth-pop music. The original lineup included Ronny Moerings, Pieter Nooten, Frank Weyzig, and Anke Wolbert. This excellent 1985 debut on the 4AD label is very similar in style and delivery to Alphaville's 1984 debut, "Forever Young". I highly recommend their first three albums to all the 80's music fans. The following is an album discography for the Clan to date; note that from 1988 to 1996 the band had shortened their name to "Xymox". There is also one bootleg CD compilation, as far as I know, which collects together their 1980's B-sides. [Discography updated in June 2011.]

01. Clan Of Xymox (self-titled) 1985
02. Medusa 1987
03. Twist Of Shadows 1989
04. Phoenix 1991
05. Headclouds 1993
06. Metamorphosis 1993
07. Remix (edits and mixes from the albums 5 and 6 above) 1994
08. Subsequent Pleasures (1984 EP reissue + bonus tracks) 1994
09. Hidden Faces 1997
10. Creatures 1999
11. Live (2xCD) 2000
12. Notes from the Underground 2001
13. The John Peel Sessions (Recorded in 1985) 2001
14. Remixes from the Underground (2xCD) 2002
15. Farewell 2003
16. The Best Of (including the 80's re-recorded versions) 2004
17. Breaking Point 2006
18. In Love We Trust 2009
19. Darkest Hour 2011

So it wasn't 'radio friendly', per se. Not due to lack of memorable melodies or catchy, gloomy dance tracks. Clan of Xymox always got ragged by critics because they didn't have an original sound. Maybe that was true--they wore their influences on their sleeve--Ronny Moorings used to tout New Order as the greatest band around and made no bones about wanting to be like them. He was just a bit darker than Sumner and Co. But as the years have passed and all the other bands that made music like this have faded away, people still want these early Clan of Xymox records like crazy. They want them because they're so damn good. Sure, it's a bit o' Cure, a bit o' New Order, with a 4AD glaze, but it goes down so easy. No music evokes wintry atmospheres and that special brand of romanticism that the 80's synth pop bands had quite like Clan of Xymox. Sure, tons of people made music like this in the early and mid '80's, but nobody put these elements together with such grace as Ronny Moorings. Ronny's a bit like Trent Reznor or Billy Corgan--the music is almost always written and performed by him 100%(save for the few Pieter Nooten tracks scattered about). His indulgences are his strength and his voice is, in my opinion, THE definitive goth voice. Oh, I know Pete Murphy, Andrew Eldritch, etc., etc. I love them, too and they're great vocalists. But Ronny has a way with those lower registers and with those impassioned high notes like nobody else plus, a pretty cool way of doubling the low register with the high register to maintain the dark croon and the desperate howl all at the same time. The Clan's instrumentation made them great too. Electronic dance beats, synths, acoustic guitar, and synth strings were almost always the formula, not to mention some cool use of early sampling (further explored on 'Medusa'). With the ever masterful John Fryer at the production helm, this record is a sure bet to please anyone with a taste for the melancholy mirrorball from the time when Joy Division and Kraftwerk were THE patron saints of European music. Eat this one up!

Wow, I cannot believe that it has been nearly 20 years since I first heard "A Day" on the dancefloor at the new wave/goth club Blitz in Phoenix. The DJ used to play the remix of A Day, and I can remember thinking "this is the coolest song ever". I asked the DJ who it was and I understood him as saying "Zylocks" so I looked for Zylocks records for a year (I was only 13). Needless to say, I finally saw the light, got the album and it has been in semi regular rotation ever since. Recently I met a new friend that is just as crazy about the whole post-punk/goth/synthpop thing, and he has felt the same way about this album since he was a kid. It is one of the few albums that when I put it on, I let it play in it's entirity. It would seem a sacrilige to take it off half way through. So light some candles and insense and read some Poe, Dickinson, Or The Grey Garden, something dark and lovely and enjoy this album swirling in the background.

"CoX" is flat-out dynamite, easily ranking among my all-time favorites. few other CDs blend songcraft, danceable undercurrents and haunting lyrical sensibilities as seamlessly as this one does.

it ebbs and flows nicely between driving rhythmic tracks and calmer, more emotive melodies. although there isn't a bad song in the lot, my personal favorite is "cry in the wind" (track 4), which builds to a crescendo that still electrifies me 12 years after hearing it for the first time.

absolutely, positively worth the money. while you're at it, pick up the follow-up (medusa) and immerse yourself in the definitive clan of xymox experience!

My first experience with Xymox was actually their 1989 album 'Twist of Shadows' which I purchased on cassette. After being quite impressed with the entire album I bought 'Clan of Xymox' on compact disc which is, in my opinion, their best and most original work to date. And as mentioned by another fan, the almost 'other-worldly' vocals of Mr. Moorings are what really makes the group stand out. Seems like most people either love or hate this album. For me, it's definitely a classic, and every bit as enjoyable now as the day I first listened.

This was their debut album and it is unbelieveable debut album at that . Most of these songs sound like they've been shining down from the Greek gods for a long time . I guarantee you that you get value for money when you listen to the start of A day and up until the very last track it doesn't hold up .

Mesmerizing album from an equally mesmerizing band

Most people who were attuned to the dance scene of the mid to late 80s would recognize both "Stranger" and "A Day" as two staples of any DJ's Vinyl 45 collection, and yet no one seems to lift an eyebrow at the album's second string songs--"No Words" and "Equal Ways" are two of Xyomox's best pieces. These two songs just by themselves are worth the price of the album. Other Notables: the catchy "Muscoviet Mosquito" and the dirge-like "No Human can Drown". Buy it. It'll make you a believer.

I first heard Clan of Xymox on public radio in the early 80's. I quickly purchased it and now have owned it on Vinyl, Cassette and CD. This is one of those pieces where every track is a treasure and can stand on its own. Equally good as dance, driving, work or sleeping music. It should be in every serious music collection.

I've been a fan of the clan for over 12 years. This re-release of their earlier music was a smart move. It is one of thier best, with the track "No Words" at the top. The sound of this re-release, Clan of Xymox can only be rivaled by Medusa, Twist of Shadows or Phoenix. Where the band stays with an adio 3-D, ethereal feel and the desires of the ear is a hope for more releases of the same.

I have written a lot about the way I feel about this band under Medusa. As far as their first Clan Of Xymox album, this is their best work. I am emotionally attached to Medusa even more because that was my introduction to them. However, my two most favorite songs of Clan Of Xymox are on their first album. A Cry In The Wind is an incredibly powerful song with an amazing finale of one of the most dramatic and emotional guitar solos I know, where Frank Weyzig first showed us his greatness. No Human Can Drawn is another song I have always loved so much. It is so simple yet breathtaking. Many other great songs here, basically all of them but i would like to point out 7th Time. Two other songs here made the list of excellent dance songs to many on that scene. A Day and Stranger, both powerful. A Day is more emotional and Stranger brings on a foreign almost psychedelic reality into the dancefloor. This album is much more diverse than the monothonic Medusa.