Systems of Romance

Here’s an oldie but a goodie – a 7” that has been ripped and shared before but always at a curiously low bitrate. It’s a rather affordable sliver of new wave-y/dreamy post-punk, the first in an otherwise hit-or-miss catalog from UK band Persian Rugs, released in 1981. The a-side is a very catchy affair, but it’s the b-side that not only is the winner of the two tracks for me, but also has a direct lineage to classic 4AD, in a very unsuspecting way.

So the story goes: When Ian Masters left Pale Saints to form Spoonfed Hybrid, the band continued on with co-vocalist Meriel Barham taking the reigns. Their third and final record Slow Buildings is a divisive affair, but has one standout track, the immaculate, powerful, and weepy “Fine Friend,” which was released as a single. If you’re familiar with that cut, you may immediately hear shades of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You” throughout, and no doubt, there is some correlation there as well, but if you listen to “Poison in the Airwaves” and “Fine Friend” back to back, you can’t miss the similarity. This was completely intentional, as 4AD’s Ivo-Watts Russel pitched the song to Pale Saints as a cover, in the vein of a This Mortal Coil-esque retelling. Rather than cover it directly, the band rewrote the lyrics, kept the chorus melodies, and added the entire second half of the song to prove their own power was still intact.

I love this story, love both tracks, and adore that this otherwise obscure nugget is woven into the fabric of my favorite record label, an easter egg that most still are unaware of. With that in mind, please enjoy this single, and have a great weekend, y’all!

Persian Rugs- Burning Passion Pain 7”
1. Burning Passion Pain
2. Poison in the Airwaves

*download it here*

This entry was posted on August 10, 2018 at 6:08 pm and is filed under 1981, 4ad, Pale Saints, Persian Rugs, post-punk, uk . 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.