Darklands

The first of their albums to use drum machines, it replaced Gillespie, who had left to concentrate on Primal Scream. The Reids recorded it almost entirely themselves. William Reid produced every track, with Bill Price on tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 9 and John Loder on 5, 7 and 10. Jim Reid sings lead except on Darklands, Nine Million Rainy Days and On the Wall, which William sings. The singles were April Skies in April 1987, Happy When It Rains in August and Darklands in October. The band toured it with sets that stretched to 45 minutes and no drummer, using a drum machine.

It reached 5 on the UK albums chart. Pitchfork gave it 7.8 and said that with Gillespie replaced by a drum machine the band turns down the noise attitude and develops the back-to-basics pop songs that were always underneath. AllMusic's Ned Raggett wrote that it is no Psychocandy but still a good listen, and Robert Christgau gave it a B+. The Guardian noted that it is William Reid's favorite of the band's albums, and Primal Scream later covered the title track as a B-side. The album is in the 1001 Albums book.