Bradford Discography
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 BradfordBradford Release Date 1988 Label Midnight Music Rating:  This French mini-album collects eight early singles from the quintet, only one of which, the lead-off track &"Skin Storm," will be familiar from Shouting Quietly. The band's most famous number due to the cover version by semi-mentor Morrissey some three years later, &"Skin Storm" does sound rather like something the ex-Smiths singer would have written himself, but is no less charming for it. Ian H.'s singing isn't a Moz-clone, happily -- a quiet, restful passion, if anything, is at the heart of it, an interesting contrast with the charged sexual energy of the lyrics. The combination of acoustic/electric chime and synth shadings is a fine final touch. The remaining numbers are a mixed but still entertaining bunch, which interestingly show Ian H.'s Smiths inspirations more clearly than &"Skin Storm" at points -- check out the rolled R's and slight yelps on &"Everything At Once." Offhand lyrical references to "cattlemarket discos" and "trendy clothes" give a sense of the relationship and personal politics at play. If Ian H. is ultimately no Morrissey himself, his kinship with fellow Smiths-obsessives and loathers of modern romantic and social games as Luke Haines or Thom Yorke makes a certain sense. As it is, Gene frontman Martin Rossiter might as well have also been taking notes, what with song titles like &"Dodging Around in Cars" and &"Tattered, Tangled and Torn." The crisp sound of the group as a whole is very post-punk English and eighties, ringing, sprightly, melancholy, and more as need and mood determine. While this out-of-print collection isn't life-changing, anyone stumbling across it might want to give it an ear -- the fact that the cover looks exactly like a Smiths cover shot shouldn't surprise anyone. Ned Raggett, Rovi |
Tracks:
| Title | Composer | Time | |
| 1 | Skin Storm | Ian H | 3:15 |
| 2 | Everything at Once | Ian H | 1:59 |
| 3 | Lust Roulette | Ian H | 4:46 |
| 4 | Dodging Around in Cars | Ian H | 3:28 |
| 5 | Tattered, Tangled and Torn | Ian H | 2:33 |
| 6 | Saturday Insanity | Ian H | 2:49 |
| 7 | Quality of Mercy | Ian H | 2:23 |
| 8 | Gatling Gun | Ian H, John Baulcombe | 2:00 |
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