Even As We Speak - The Black Forest

Even As We Speak. Camden Town, London. 1993.

Formed in the mid 1980s, founding members Matthew Love (guitar, banjo, vocals) and Mary Wyer (vocals, guitar) were later joined by Rob Irwin (bass) Anita Rayner (drums, banjo, mandolin), Paul Clarke (guitar, vocals) and Julian Knowles (keyboards, guitar, production).

After a series of vinyl releases on Australian independent labels including Phantom Records, and success on the Australian indie scene, Even As We Speak, came to the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel who started to play the band's 1987 indie guitar cover of New Order Bizarre Love Triangle on his show. This brought them to the attention of UK audiences and began a relationship with UK indie label Sarah Records. The band released several singles and an album on Sarah Records, three of which reached the Top 5 of the Melody Maker and New Musical Express UK independent music charts in 1992 and 1993.

Following the demise of the Sarah Records, the label achieved cult status and in 2015 was named number 2 in NME’s 20 Greatest Indie Labels of All Time. A documentary ‘My Secret World: The Story of Sarah Records’ appeared in 2013, followed by the 2015 book ‘PopKiss: The Life and Afterlife of Sarah Records’ on Bloomsbury. This flurry of interest in the Sarah Records discography generated renewed interest in the band, with requests flowing in to reform to play festival shows and offers of new recording opportunities. The band subsequently played a sold out show at NYC Popfest in 2016, appearing alongside the Chills and The Railway Children.

Enthused about playing together again, and finding the chemistry still there, the band returned to the studio to record a new 5 EP The Black Forest for Emotional Response Records– out on 10” Vinyl, CD and Digital. This is the band’s first release of new material since 1993. The result is a package of pure pop gems every bit as good as anything in their back catalogue. This release marks a new phase of creative activity for the band.

credits

Bass – Rob Irwin

Drums – Anita Rayner

Engineer, Mixed By – Julian Knowles

Guitar, Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Julian Knowles

Guitar, Vocals – Matthew Love

Producer – Julian Knowles

Songwriter – Horst Jankowski (tracks: B3), Matthew Love (tracks: A1, A2, B1, B2)

Vocals – Mary Wyer

released September 11, 2017