from the 7” single, Rough Trade Records, 1980As generic as this track might sound through modern ears, nobody else was making this sort of sparse & twee rock back in 1980---at least no one fronted by a female vocalist, something which added leagues to their delicate vibe; the Young Marble Giants hailed from Cardiff, Wales and were only around long enough to record one full-length album, but they get name-dropped like a motherfucker throughout the indie rock world as having been very influential to a wide range of other musicians. This song is so minimal it almost disappears, but that synth playing one solitary note (sounding sort of like a theremin) commands attention, and frankly, the tune is downright catchy; Billy Bragg nicked the chords from this for his clever track, “A New England”. Not sure what to make of all the apocalyptic imagery here, “…as the light goes out on the final day, for the people who never had a say…as the final day falls into the night, there is peace outside in the narrow light…”, but it fits the austere ambiance like a glove.
