Comforts of Madness [Import]

Pale Saints | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 21, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: 4ad
• ASIN: B0000072RB
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #177,054 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST HAVE!!!!, May 21, 2003

By 

Charles Comer (Baltimore, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Comforts of Madness (Audio CD)

I believe that The Comforts of Madness is perhaps the most significant and yet little known recording of an equally significant musical era. It lies at the wake of what might be considered "classic" British indie, representative of bands such as McCarthy, The Smiths, Biff Bang Pow, House of Love, and many more besides. But it also is at the cusp--and perhaps birth--of shoegaze, twee, and the second wave [sic.] of British indie. To this effect The Comforts of Madness is the early crystalization of bands such as Slowdive, Chapterhouse, Lush, Ride, etc. etc. Indeed, The Comforts of Madness, much less any Pale Saints recording, captures the very essence of nearly all that was indie in Britain in the late eighties/early nineties: washing guitar sounds, mellow rhythms, whispery vocals, and somewhat sentimental lyrics. Although this may sound sappy, it is not; trust me. This album is intense and is well suited for contemplative moments and self-indulgent behavior induced by whatever turns you on.

The e.p. that came out prior to The Comforts of Madness is titled Barging Into the Presence of God, and contains 'Sight of You,' which is presumably the single track on TCOM. However, nearly each time I meet someone familiar with TCOM it is generally agreed that track number three, 'Sea of Sound,' is the strongest song on the album. Of course tastes change and this track, along with track seven, 'A Deep Sleep for Steven,' are ostensibly the more dreamy, mello, and, as I alluded to above, more sentimental of the tracks. Several of the tracks are rather upbeat yet still capture that washy/shoe-gazy sound so indicative of the period.

To be sure, TCOM is an album of an era and captures that moment in Brit-pop history perfectly. Yet, I feel that TCOM has withstood the test of time perhaps better than many of the recordings of the period. This may be due to the fact that TCOM was released prior to the buzz of the "shoegaze" bands that were soon to arrive on the scene. It is the same phenomenon that occurs when anything become popular and defined - it invariably becomes vulgar. This is not to suggest that bands such as Slowdive, Chapterhouse, Secret Shine, and The Field Mice are vulgar. Not at all. But comparatively I would argue that TCOM is a stronger, more timeless, work. Of course My Bloody Valentine was not mentioned here and deserves a great deal of credit for all the aforementioned bands, as do countless others.

If this has piqued your interest I encourage you to check out the Pale Saints. If you have and you like what you have heard, be aware that Ian Masters has, subsequent to his leaving the Pale Saints, partnered with some unlikly musicians such as Chris Trout to form Spoonfed Hybrid (a remarkable recording released on the 4AD subsidiary Guernica--find this and buy it!) and Warren DeFever from His Name is Alive to do some project whose name I forget. I have not heard this project in full but what I have heard in quite different from Pale Saints and Spoonfed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never An Uncomfortable Listen, June 10, 2011

By 

kabalabonga - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Comforts of Madness (Audio CD)

No group signed to 4AD was better able to promote tension within their recordings through the usage of a quiescent/aggressive dynamic then the Pixies), but the Pale Saints, in my opinion, were often a closely related second, though they didn't replicate the electro-acoustical formula made so familiar by the Pixies.

This was brought more to bear on their sophomore release "In Ribbons", but strong traces begin to rise on their full-length debut, "The Comforts of Madness", which by turns within the space of the first song "Way The World Is" begins with a sudden explosive onrush and graduates to something almost softly bouncing or levitating before reverting again and ending in an all-out crescendo. "Sight of You", "Comforts'" breakout track, is a little more restrained in presentation, but employs this dynamic even more effectively, guitars levitating up and down the scale with a chiming resonance. "Insubstantial" gradually ratchets up a jangly guitar line to a heavier layer of distortion, retreats, and allows the tempo to build again, ending in a transitional phase of heavily modulated effects that reach a state of sustained explosiveness before fading into perhaps the finest track on this release " A Deep Sleep For Steven", which builds from a heavily narcotic guitar texture, resonant bassline, and quietly splashing cymbals to reach a crescendo that doesn't travel far from its point of origin, but with a truly majestic sweep, evoking deliberative pomp with a deft usage of tom-toms. "Sea of Sound", another song that rests upon a levitational scale, is similar in deliberate pacing to the previously mentioned track, but builds to its slight crescendo in a glorious wave of delayed, pitch-bent, echo-driven multiplicative riffing. "Little Hammer" uses a slightly plucked, heavily resonant bassline, tom-toms, a dulcimer, and an acoustic guitar riff to build toward its moderate level. "True Coming Dream" and "Language of Flowers" are both upbeat dreampop songs, enjoyable listens, but (almost) forgettable next to the material that's preceded it, including a well-turned cover of Opal's "Fell From The Sun."

Serving to perfectly match the mood of each track, Ian Master's boyish tenor and introspective lyrics capture a sense of nostalgia on several tracks (including the brilliant "Little Hammer") or confused wistfulness ("A Deep Sleep For Steven") and hopeful forecasting ("Sea of Sound"). Although a strong release on its own merits, "In Ribbons", bolstered by the inclusion of Meriel Barham to serve as a vocal counterpoint, represents the apotheosis of the Pale Saint's sound. Nevertheless, "The Comforts of Madness" is just about as close to indispensable as "In Ribbons", missing out only by a whisker.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most perfect album ever, February 3, 2004

By 

"citizenpep2" (Deerfield Beach, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Comforts of Madness (Audio CD)

I bought this CD shortly after it came out and it quickly shot to the top of my all-time favorite albums. Here we are, 14 years and hundreds of CD purchases later, and it's still at the top of my list.

As other reviewers have noted, there is not one bad song on this disc. This is pure indie dreampop at it finest. The seamless production (with short "interstitial" moments connecting the songs) makes this album feel like a waking dream.

I would point out the best tracks on the disc, but that would amount to a complete tracklisting. Most notable: "Sea of Sound," "Language of Flowers," "Sight of You," and "True Coming Dream."