The Virgin Prunes were masters of the uncanny, juxtaposing nightmares
with lullabies, beauty with cruelty, combining gentle vocals and the
spoken word with anguished wailing from purgatory itself. This first
album powerfully laid out this terrain. It's themes ranged from mournful
tales of unrequited love, frustrated sexuality, morbid eroticism and
wasted youth, to yearnings for distant dreamlands which were juxtaposed
with macabre visions of dystopian societies, overpowered by dark forces
and where demons run amok. Guggi's art work for A New Form of Beauty,
which intimates a heartless transaction within a domestic setting, is in
keeping with this sensibility. A New Form of Beauty (1981) was recorded
and produced by the band itself. It includes the tracks of the first
four parts of what was a five-part, mixed-format project with Rough
Trade Records. Part 1 was a 7" record, Part 2 was a 10", Part 3 was a
12": these were recorded between July and October 1981. Part 4 was 'Din
Glorious', released as an audio cassette, was a recording of extracts of
a live event on 8th November 1981 at the Douglas Hyde Gallery in
Dublin. Part 5 was to be a film of 'Performance, Exhibition, Event
staged at the Douglas Hyde Gallery on 7th and 8th November 1981. This
deluxe edition features all four parts remastered from original tape
across a 3LP, 2CD & Deluxe Digital with brand new remixes and tape
loops mashups by Gavin Friday & Apparition (2CD & Digital only).
Brand new sleevenotes by Jon Wood and original Guggi drawings housed in
a deluxe artbook.
English