timeline

Pale Saints

A Leeds band on 4AD whose choirboy vocals and noisy, dark pop made two albums that now sit on lists of the best shoegaze records.

Origin
Leeds, England
Years active
1987-1996
Genres
shoegaze, dream pop, indie pop, alternative rock
Labels
4AD

Leeds

Pale Saints formed in Leeds in 1987 around Ian Masters on vocals and bass, Graeme Naysmith on guitar and Chris Cooper on drums and percussion. Their early sound was jangly indie pop, shaped by the early records of Primal Scream, with Masters singing in a high, ethereal voice often compared to a choirboy's. A 1988 single, Children Break, and a couple of compilation tracks came first.

In 1989 a London show was attended by Ivo Watts-Russell, who ran 4AD, and the band signed to the label. One account says they agreed on condition that 4AD also signed Lush. Their debut was the EP Barging Into the Presence of God, released on 18 September 1989. Its opening track, Sight of You, and She Rides the Waves had first been recorded at Woodhouse Studios in Leeds in late 1988, and the EP was produced and engineered at Blackwing Studios in London in June 1989. It reached number three on the UK independent chart, and both of those songs were Festive Fifty entries.

The Comforts of Madness

The first album, The Comforts of Madness, came out on 12 February 1990 and was 4AD's first release of the decade. It was recorded at Blackwing Studios in London, with John Fryer producing some tracks and Gil Norton the rest. It reached number 40 in the UK. NME gave it nine out of ten, and Jack Rabid of Trouser Press called it a remarkable, ear-catching debut. Pitchfork later placed it twenty-first on its list of the fifty best shoegaze albums.

Sight of You was re-recorded for the album, where it runs a little shorter than on the EP, and Pitchfork later credited Fryer with dialing back its delay pedal and pushing its bassline forward. The band wrote every song but Fell from the Sun, which Kendra Smith of Opal wrote.

Barham and In Ribbons

Meriel Barham, an original vocalist of Lush, joined on vocals and guitar, and the band released the Half-Life EP, produced by Chris Allison, which reached number 86 in the UK. In 1991 they toured with the Pixies and played Brixton Academy in London on 26 June, a concert that survives as a recording. That June they released the Flesh Balloon EP, their only release of the year. It included Kinky Love, a cover of a Nancy Sinatra single sung by Barham, which reached number 72 in the UK.

In Ribbons followed in March 1992. Hugh Jones produced it over several months at Monnow Valley, Palladium and Blackwing studios, and it reached number 61 in the UK. NME gave it nine out of ten, and Kieron Tyler of The Arts Desk later wrote that it caught the band at their peak. Pitchfork ranked it thirty-fourth among the best shoegaze albums, where Judy Berman noted that Option magazine had called the two singers "the Glimmer Twins minus the heroin."

Last years and legacy

Masters left the band, saying he had lost enthusiasm for touring, and Colleen Browne, who had played bass in the Heart Throbs, took over bass and vocals. With Hugh Jones producing again, the new line-up released the Fine Friend EP and then Slow Buildings, the third and last album, in August 1994, with Barham now singing lead. The single Fine Friend was adapted from a 1981 song by the Scottish band Persian Rugs. They toured Europe and the United States that autumn. Their last studio recording was a version of Tom Waits' Jersey Girl for a tribute album. Barham left in September 1995 and the band ended in 1996.

Masters went on to Spoonfed Hybrid, ESP Summer, Friendly Science Orchestra and other projects. Naysmith and Cooper formed Lorimer, then the Terminals, then Cyanide Pills, and Barham recorded as Kuchen. In 2020 4AD reissued The Comforts of Madness for its thirtieth anniversary, with a bonus disc of demos and a complete John Peel session, and put the Mrs. Dolphin compilation out on vinyl for Record Store Day. Graeme Naysmith died on 4 April 2024.

Members

Records

Songs

Lush, Ride, Pixies, Dum Dum Girls

Where to go next

Official

Reference

Discography and data

Writing and criticism

Live performance archives

Film and video

Sources

  1. Pale Saints, Wikipedia
  2. Pale Saints, Toppermost
  3. Pale Saints, 4AD
  4. Pale Saints, Trouser Press
  5. Pale Saints discography, Quimby
  6. Pale Saints: The Comforts of Madness, Pitchfork (2020-01-23)
  7. The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time, Pitchfork (2016-10-24)
  8. Slow Buildings, Wikipedia
  9. Pale Saints releases, Discogs
  10. Sight of You (Official Video), oEmbed, YouTube
  11. Kinky Love (Official Video), oEmbed, YouTube
  12. Pale Saints release groups, MusicBrainz
  13. Barging Into the Presence of God release group, MusicBrainz
  14. Kinky Love, Nancy Sinatra single, MusicBrainz
  15. Kinky Love work, MusicBrainz