Customer Reviews

In Ribbons

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If you've never heard Pale Saints, this is probably the best first album to get. It is the most accessible and etherial of the all, and the last album before a line-up change saw the departure of one of the founders of the band. This means that the Pale Saints of "Slow Buildings" is essentially a different band, and with lifeless songs.

The songs on this album work together to be more than just a collection of songs. Some may say that "The Comforts of Madness" is a better album, but I found that one not as well produced and the songs not as good compared to this one. On "In Ribbons," you have female vocals on several of the songs, which works very well with the etherial guitar arrangements.

Also, check out "Blue Flower," which the same song that Mazzy Star did on "She Hangs Brightly," but with a completely different, more etherial feel to it. However, the band sound nothing like Mazzy Star. If you like Lush and the Cocteau Twins, you should get this album.

IN RIBBONS was the second full-length album by Pale Saints, coming three years after their debut THE COMFORTS OF MADNESS. Here new guitarist and vocalism Meriel Barham joins first guitarist Graeme Naysmith, bass and vocalist Ian Masters, and drummer Chris Cooper. It's a superb album, one of my all-time favourite releases by the 4AD label, which has always had a high standard of quality.

The Pale Saints' first release had shown the then-trio to be firmly in the shoegazing camp, with lots of flange and mysterious production. But they stood apart from other acts for their outstanding musicianship. Sure, Naysmith's guitars were standard fare for shoegazing, but Masters' bass was refreshingly agressive, and Cooper's percussion ranks him up with David Narcizo as a master of indie rock drumming. Masters' voice, which floated high up like the tormented reincarnation of a Viennese choirboy, gave a highly individual touch. The songwriting was impressively strong too, with, for example, the changing times in "Time Thief" and the poignant lyrics of "Language of Flowers".

On IN RIBBONS, both of these elements are still present. The addition of Barham, however, makes for a fuller instrumental sound. At the same time, the production is remarkably less murky than on the first album, with Hugh Jones letting a bright, glittery sound come through compared to Fryer's dark and moody atmospheres on the first album. Most of the material is still contributed by Ian Masters. He provides vocals on all songs but three, and "Hair Shoes"--first heard as a chilling demo on the "Flesh Balloon" EP, now an awesome wall of sound-- and "Shell" seem to be entirely his idea. When Barham makes an appearance on vocals, in "Thread of Light", "Liquid", and "Featherframe" (possibly the most elegant song here) it is no jarring contrast, but a perfect harmony with existing tradition. The album famously closes with "A Thousand Stars Burst Open", a visionary track that subjects the sonic range of a jam band to the carefully considered structure of the Pale Saint's finest work.

As an additional fine feature of IN RIBBONS, one must mention the album artwork by the legendary designer Vaughan Oliver and his firm v23. The typography is based on that of the first album, but whereas v23 chose dark colours on THE COMFORTS OF MADNESS, we find rich yellow and white tones on IN RIBBONS that perfectly complements the luminosity of the sound.

If you like bands from the 4AD's middle period, such as Lush, Cocteau Twins, or heck, even Swallow, Pale Saints are sure to be a delight. And IN RIBBONS is one of their finest efforts, with remarkable staying power. Years after I've abandoned most of my 4AD collection, IN RIBBONS still gets a frequent listen.

this breathtaking recording is probably the most worthwhile purchase any fan of cerebral yet unobtrusive music could make. overall, the mood of this record is more brooding and subdued than the playful optimism of their unlikely debut lp. high points include the nearly-terrifying "hunted", the gracefully awkward "ordeal", and the soothing "a thousand stars..." missing from the uk cd is their cover of mazzy star's cover of slapp happy's "blue flower", which is indeed enjoyable but not necessary. buy this cd and discover why pale saints did NOT deserve to be lumped in with such less-imaginative acts as ride. if you are interested in what ian masters (vocalist/bassist/main songwriter who left the band not too long after this record was released) has been up to, check out spoonfed hybrid (collaboration with chris trout of a. c. temple) and oneironaut (solo "electronica" project).

No one who's watched a growing band of escalating flurries levitate up and down through a breezy wind can fail to be struck by the singularity of the experience, even if they've seen it often enough before. And that's what I feel like when I hear the chiming scale of a metallic instrument struck at the end of "Ordeal" (the second track from "In Ribbons"), the song previously having been driven by duel guitar work promoting heavy distortion and pitch bending ..I've heard the song many times before, and the cumulative effect never fails to move me.

"In Ribbons" is one of the handful of CD's I own that I would never tire of listening to if I were stranded in some remote location. I recently replaced a copy that had finally worn out after 17 years. Almost every track has some sort of highly accessible hook or sense of dynamic tension ("Hair Shoes" a heavily atmospheric cut, is the exception to both rule, joining the orchestral "Shell" and tone poem "There Is No Day" and "Neverending Night" - a languidly-paced track celebrating the universal condition of budding fetal awareness in utero that is driven almost entirely by a blend of reverbed guitar and pitch bending- as lacking in some form of organic build-up to a crescendo). No longer relying on just one guitarist, a variety of effects are used to weave together these subversive pop masterpieces; light and heavy distortion, delay, reverberation, and phase shifting, among others, sometimes seemingly in one the space of one song ("Hair Shoes"). Meriel Barham's addition as second guitarist allows for more heavily textured, highly interlocking fretwork in tandem with Graham Naesmith on the remaining tracks.

Meriel Barham's presence is felt just as strongly in her position as secondary vocalist, her husky vocals serving as a dramatic counterpoint to Ian Master's highly resonant tenor. She takes the lead on close to a third of "In Ribbons", including the effervescent "Thread of Light", a superlative cover of Slapp Happy's "Blue Flower", now graced by a levitational scale and heavily compressed distortion, the jangly, loping, graceful "Liquid", and the intricately structured "Featherframe". She does a fantastic job of interpreting the lyrics, and her vocal presence took "In Ribbons" up a notch over their full-length debut release, "The Comforts of Madness", revealing a heretofore hidden dimension to the band's overall presence.

Ian Master's literate, often wistful, highly reflective lyrics also serve to advance gorgeous melodies, which can be found even on the more aggressively paced tracks ("Throwing Back the Apple", "Hunted", and "Babymaker"), his clear, emotive tenor delivery adding a deeper level of sensitivity to all of the cuts on which he vocalizes, but especially poignant on the closing track, "A Thousand Stars Burst Open", his swan song with this band, as he would move on to form the more experimental Spoonfed Hybrid.

No more copies of "In Ribbons" are presently being printed, . It's a vital, necessary release, and easily one of (if not) the best shoegazing titles ever recorded. I submit that you should grab a copy while they're still available here.

other than My bloody valentine, Medicine, and a couple Boo Radleys albums. I think I like this one best out of other Saint's albums but I like the other two too from what I've heard. For a sample of this one just check out "ordeal," "thread of light" "shell" or "throwing back the apple." I like them all really. The female vocalist feels like the calming gas they use at the dentist and the arrangements are very clever/varying/dreamy etc. This one's got a rich texture to itand it beats itself into your brain. Highly recommended.

This album is the most spacial, artsy, atmospheric, album ever written. I saw them live at CBGB's about 4 years ago and live they are phenomenal.

Pale Saints ruled.