And Also the Trees "And Also the Trees" (1984)

vinyl cover

And Also the Trees [debut]
release date: Feb. 1984
format: vinyl (LEX 1) / cd (1992 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,36]
producer: Laurence Tolhurst
label: Reflex Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "So This Is Silence" (4 / 5) - 5. "Impulse of Man" - 6. "Shrine" - 7. "Twilights Pool"

Studio album debut by And Also the Trees is produced by Laurence Tolhurst (The Cure) and issued on Reflex Records as its first album issue - the '92 cd issue is released on Normal Records. Here the band consists of the brothers Jones: Simon on vocals and (younger brother) Justin on guitar together with new bassist Stephen Burrows (who replaced Graham Navas after a clash between Graham and the other members in early '83) and Nick Havas on drums.

The style is a promising gothic rock and post-punk release. I bought the album upon its release and immediately fell for their dark and haunting sound. The first track is great; however, the rest is of varied quality, or: not highly original material, as some tracks seem like attempts to create something similar to the sound of The Cure on Seventeen Seconds (1980) blending with strong influence of Joy Division.

[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

[ collectors' item - from ~ 35€,- ]

1992 CD cover