With Born Sandy Devotional, the Triffids fully realized the potential
shown on their earlier releases, Treeless Plain and Raining Pleasure.
By 1985 the band was based in London, but despite the fact that this album
was recorded 9,000 miles from home, its roots lie deep in the Triffids'
native western Australia. While the spectacular cover photograph featuring
the township of Mandurah provides a sense of place, David McComb's songwriting
evokes his home environment all the more vividly. Indeed, this is the
most accomplished work from McComb's tragically short career, encapsulating
his talent for creating a lyrical and musical resonance between the stark,
isolated geography of western Australia and universally recognizable,
desolate interior landscapes. Born Sandy Devotional certainly is dark,
its lyrics replete with death, psychological turmoil, and despair, but
it's never maudlin or banal. McComb's commanding delivery combines with
expansive, string-adorned arrangements to elevate many of these songs
to the level of high emotional drama; haunting keyboards, vibes, and "Evil"
Graham Lee's pedal steel add atmospheric detail. The elusive quality of
McComb's writing makes his stories all the more compelling and memorable
as he offers listeners fragmented, unresolved scenes instead of comfortable,
complete narratives. Such elements coalesce sublimely on "Stolen
Property" and "The Seabirds," songs of loss and suicide,
respectively, but the anthemic "Wide Open Road" and the intense,
claustrophobic "Lonely Stretch" are the standouts. Another tale
of life gone wrong, "Tarrilup Bridge" sets organist Jill Birt's
childlike vocals amid an eerie ambience of vibes and strings. Nevertheless,
the album closes on a cautiously optimistic note with Birt's duet with
McComb, "Tender Is the Night." Born Sandy Devotional was a landmark
release for the Triffids. More than that, it stands as a testament to
McComb's status as one of Australia's most gifted (and overlooked) rock
songwriters.
(by Wilson Neate, All
Music Guide)
|