from the 12” single, Merciful Release, 1982I’ve spoken before of musical litmus tests, those particular bands which come to define an actual doorway into another level of subcultural membership, bands whose very mention can instantaneously separate a group of individuals into partisan camps; back in the day, the Sisters of Mercy were most assuredly one of those groups. You either knew about them and had all of these old singles of theirs on crappy booter cassettes, or you looked upon this band (hell, the name alone) with derision and, ultimately, fear of what sinister acts might be going on there. The funny thing is, looking at them now, the scariest thing about this Leeds-based crew was their name…well, that and Andrew Eldritch’s bass-heavy gurgle, enough to make Richard Butler (Psychedelic Furs) sound downright perky. This track is a hot jangly mess, matching dark & light tones with masterful ease, and introducing us to Mr. Eldritch’s cynical, near misanthropic worldview, “…Alice pressed against the wall so she can see the door, in case the laughing strangers crawl and crush the petals on the floor…she needs you like she needs her tranqs, to tell her that the world is clean, to promise her a definition…pass the crystal, spread the Tarot, in illusion comfort lies; the safest way, the straight and narrow, no confusion no surprise…” Wise choice in naming the protagonist Alice, a name which conjures all sorts of druggy imagery, from Wonderland to the bogus diary of an acid casualty that never was (remember reading Go Ask Alice?!?). The shadowy vibe, and fast beats, got them lumped in with the goth movement, but the Sisters always had a good deal more going on than merely a pout and some black eyeliner.
