Young Marble Giants

Country of origin:

Wales

Type of music generally:

Early New Wave alternapop

Status:

Long disbanded. A DVD, Live at the Hurrah (CD and DVD) was released in 2004, and Salad Days, a compilation of home demos of songs, in 2000. However, their only full-length original release is Colossal Youth, originally released in 1979.

See also:

Wikipedia's entry on Young Marble Giants

The Ectophiles' Guide entries for Alison Statton's current project, Alison Statton and Spike

Comparisons:

Unique, especially for their time and place. A huge influence on later New Wave and alternative pop sound

Covers/own material:

Own

General comments:

Strange, off-beat stuff that sounds totally minimally contemporary, though it's from the '70s. Stripped-down pop, minimalist, very pure-sounding, almost unemotionally played and sung but effective because of that. Hard to describe, but great. Way ahead of their time. (Neile)

Recommended first album:

Colossal Youth

Recordings:

• Colossal Youth (1979)
• Salad Days (2000)
• Live at the Hurrah (live, 2004)

Colossal Youth

Release info:

1979 (re-released various times, places, labels)

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended for pop fans

Group members:

Alison Statton—voice
Philip Moxham—bass
Stuart Moxham—guitar, organ

Produced by:

Young Marble Giants and Dave Anderson

Comments:

An incredible album that was way ahead of its time. Very catchy tunes with Alison Statton's lovely rich vocals. Hole covers their song, "Credit in The Straight World". This is a powerful album, wholly understated and a huge influence on the New Wave artists. (Neile)

Salad Days

Release info:

2000—Vinyl Japan—ASKCD 113

Availability:

U.K.

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended for Young Marble Giants fans

Group members:

Stuart Moxham—electric guitar, organ, rhythm generator, short wave radio, ring modulator
Philip Moxham—bass, rhythm generator
Alison Statton—voice

Comments:

This is a collection of what are basically home demos for Colossal Youth. While it's really better to find a copy of Colossal Youth if you can, Salad Days is still a fascinating glimpse into this band's wholly original sound and style. Minimalist and far out/ahead of its time. Sound is at times a little iffy, which reflects the (primitive by today's standards) technology they were using to record it, but that very primitive nature suits the music magically—they take great advantage of it. (Neile)

Further info:

A DVD, Live at the Hurrah Club, was released in 2004.

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