The 1986 Listening Post - This Mortal Coil - Filigree & Shadow

This Mortal Coil - Filigree & Shadow

#388/2067

September 20 1986

This Mortal Coil

Filigree & Shadow

Genre: The Soundtrack to Your Melancholy and Ultimate Demise from Wrist Slitting

2.5 out of 5

The follow up to This Mortal Coil is even darker than the previous. The “filigree” must pertain the plethora of covers interpreted by the group while the “shadow” is obviously the tenor of the entire record. 

I’m not belaboring this. I spent too much time with them. 

This album seems to exist so the people at 4AD could all be very happy and impressed with themselves. 

Side two is morose interpretations of folk songs by Judy Collins, Van Morrison, Gene Clark and Tim Buckley. If that interests you. It doesn’t me. I mean, I guess they are fine. But I’m not compelled to listen to any of them again.

I accidentally listened to “Strength of Strings” twice and didn’t notice. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/filigree-shadow-remastered/544039765

The 1984 Listening Post - This Mortal Coil -This Mortal Coil

This Mortal Coil - This Mortal Coil

#255
October 1 1984
This Mortal Coil
This Mortal Coil
3.75 out of 5

This one is fascinating. A collection of 4AD artists on what is a sort of sampler put together by the owner of the label.
As the song "Holocaust" by Big Star's Alex Chilton, (originally from Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers album) played in the background, I was sipping my coffee and my son was drawing.
"This is making me sad."
"Your drawing, Zack?"
"No. This music. Can we listen to something else? This is making me feel sad."
And that's this record.
As the dreamy & wistful "Another Day" played, Beth walked through, collecting one of the kids for school, saying, "Is this Kate Bush? Sounds like Kate Bush." It's not. But it's so close one could be forgiven for mistaking Cocteau Twins Liz Fraser for Ms. Bush.
Sometimes it feels like it's worshipping at the altar of The Cure's Seventeen Seconds. And for that I can only think of 2 reasons I would return to this: I want something on in the background while I read a light biography or I am depressed and need a soundtrack.
This reminds me of Random, an album of reinterpretations of Gary Numan songs. I appreciate it, but don't really need it.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/itll-end-in-tears-remastered/545247463