Day 60: Inspiral Carpets - Life

Album cover courtesy of Cow Records

Today’s album was the background music for a drive to go buy Halloween costumes and decorations. A fancier lady would have done that earlier than at 7pm on the 30th of October, but I personally think that living on the edge with these sorts of things make you a more efficient shopper, so it is what it is.

Inspiral Carpets were formed in 1983 and became a part of the Madchester movement in the late ‘80s, along with bands like the Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses. They released their debut studio album Life in 1990, which became a huge success, peaking at number two on the UK Albums Chart. It seems like a band that’s not discussed as much as it should be, considering how big they were in the ‘90s.

First thing that I’m thinking when listening is that this is a band with a unique sound. I feel like if I hear them in the future, I’ll easily be able to recognise them. They’ve got their own thing going on that sounds a bit like psychedelic rock, maybe a bit post punk-y, slightly gothy because of the organs, yet not sad. There’s almost a little bit of a fairground vibe in some songs, again because of the organ, which is truly an underutilised instrument – it’s ’s like someone bangs on the keys and pure joy comes out, I love it.

I couldn’t have chosen better autumnal Halloween shop drive music if I tried. I think there’s an axis of entertainment in this sort of area that ranges from sad-scary to fun-spooky, and this falls somewhere in the fun-spooky category. A few songs have been added to my library, thus far “She Comes in the Fall”, “You Can’t Take the Truth” and “Greek Wedding Song”, but I might even add more on my next listen.

9.5/10, impeccable vibes. Will buy it as a vinyl if I see it kicking about. Devastated that they’re playing near me soon and it’s sold out, but it’s my own fault for being late to the game. I also learned that if you try to google to find the price of an organ, you should also add the term “musical”.