Three-CD digipak with 24-page booklet! A colossal retrospective anthology curated/ designed by the band. Compiled from the years 1982 to 1987, it includes a wealth of archival photographs, an essay by original member Andy McGregor and essays by longtime friend Shirley Manson (Garbage, Goodbye Mr. MacKenzie) and author Alastair McKay, an early champion of the band. The release features the first legendary John Peel Session, produced by Dale Griffin and originally broadcast in May 1985.
"This compilation was a long time in the making, a labor of love for the band, showcasing our most productive years as a six-piece. The compilation of tracks - from professional BBC recordings to live performance and rehearsal room demos - it gives as broad a spectrum of the breadth of the band’s creativity during those five important years” says founding member Chris Connelly. Born into the cash-poor but culturally-wealthy environs of post-punk Edinburgh in 1980, as a 3-piece, they soon swelled into a muscular six-piece with inherited or cheaply-purchased instruments. Drawing on influences from Throbbing Gristle, Wire, Can, Captain Beefheart, to numerous angular funk bands, they also drew from the seemingly bottomless well of modern film, writing, and art that was abundant in the festival city.
Released October 2025 on Shipwrecked.
Track Listing CD1 ‘Singles & Compilations’:
01 Cathedral
02 Backwards and forwards we lean
03 Curling Theme
04 All Fours
05 Detestimony
06 Throttlehearts (Rising Mix)
07 Adults absolved
08 Monimail
09 I want more
10 Idiot Strength
11 Make it internal
12 Little Visitors
13 All Fours (Remix)
14 I Want More (7" Mix)
15 Make it internal (Integrity Mix)
CD2 ‘John Peel Sessions () & Demos’:
01 Splash Care ()
02 Goose Duplicates ()
03 An Evening with Clavichords ()
04 We’re interested (*)
05 Paperself
06 Me and My Shadow
07 Goose Duplicates (instr.)
08 Splash Care
09 An Evening with Clavichords
10 Goose Duplicates (Vocal Mix)
11 We’re interested (instr.)
12 Big Jug / Wet Steel Rail
13 We’re interested (Vox)
14 Restless
15 The Cure for Madness
16 Bye Bye to the October Sky
17 The Constant
18 Throttlehearts (vocal version)
CD3 ‘Live+’:
01 Dirty Harry
02 Do we understand Each Other
03 I want more
04 Idiot Strength - note: explicit lyrics
05 Bye Bye to the October Sky
06 Backwards and forwards we lean
07 Cure for Madness
08 Restless
09 Paperself
10 Backwards and forwards we lean (instr.)
11 Monimail
12 City on a Fence
13 Torch/Distance
14 Choke
English