Criminally overlooked for years, here – at last – is the pivotal Shriekback album in double-disc glory. It may not have the cult appeal of Tench or Jam Science and what came beforem nor the commercial overload that followed it with Go Bang!, but Oil & Gold is the pivotal, mid-career opus that draws together all of this maverick band’s strengths with a mesmerising punch.
From Barry Andrews’ snarled, gnarled vocals to Dave Allen’s agit-slap bass on ferocious punk-funk tracks such as Malaria and Health And Knowledge And Wealth And Power, there’s also the deep textures and ageless cinematic chill of This Big Hush and Faded Flowers. The original 1985 album sleeve was adorned with lyrics and credits in a specially-developed, phonetic script because – to our ears at least – this album really has a language all its own.
