Systems of Romance

I’ve got a pair of early Essence records to upload for you folks. Here’s the first of the lot, the band’s 1985 debut, Purity. The band originally formed as a three piece in 1984, hailing from Rotterdam, a region in the Netherlands. Over the course of time, the band grew in both popularity and personnel, releasing four full length LPs and several 12” singles before their demise in the mid-nineties. Most of the band’s material was released on Midnight Music, the label who also were responsible for Sad Lovers and Giants and The Snake Corps, two of the band’s closest sonic peers.

Speaking of which, it’s difficult to avoid comparing The Essence to The Cure, as the band walk similar sonic territory, straight down to the melodies, lyrics, and even the chimes in the instrumentation. For those who can’t avoid the comparison, the touchstones are close enough to consider it a lost record from The Top/Head on the Door era! Otherwise, it’s a rather solid guitar record from the mid-80s, with a hint of gloom and doom thrown in for good measure.

A surprising fun fact about this record: It was recorded in Alaska, of all places! Perhaps it was the allure of the near darkness and hopes of bringing the state’s icy edge to the record. Did they succeed? You decide. Here’s the information below.

The Essence- Purity CD
1. The Last Preach
2. A Reflected Dream
3. The Cat
4. The Blind
5. Never Mine
6. Endless Lakes
7. Forever in Death
8. Salivation
9. The Waving Girl
10. Purity
11. Confusion*
12. From My Mouth**
13. The Swaying Wind**

*bonus track from The Cat 12”, 1986
**bonus track from Endless Lakes 12”, 1986
both bonus tracks included on the 1996 CD reissue of Purity.

*download it here*

Stay tuned for the band’s sophomore record, which I will be uploading shortly!

This entry was posted on November 17, 2009 at 9:17 pm and is filed under 1985, coldwave, netherlands, new wave, post-punk, sad lovers and giants, snake corps, The Essence . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.