Cassette
At some point someone is going to have to ante up and get this Living Rainbow stuff on vinyl. While we wait for Christmas, let's make do with this latest nine track cassette, the fourth and absolutely best release yet from the London-based project helmed by Sanctuary of Praise's Tom Bryant. What was being worked at on those first three releases remains the inspiration here, a re-channeling/cross-pollination of early Factory, Creation and Whaam! that shows a strong penchant for the gloomy side of the street. Where The Dusty Clock stands above its predecessors is in its confidence, exhibited in both the quality of the recording and the overall performance. This is no Rick Rubin production, but it doesn't mean the melodies aren't a touch more defined, the arrangements less submerged, the vocal pushed nearer the top of the mix. Admittedly, the Dan Treacy adulation is worn heart-on-sleeve (others have worshipped much worse and with lesser results), but then again Treacy never hid his love for Syd Barrett so why should The Living Rainbow walk any differently, though they do stop short of serving up a 'I Know Where Dan Treacy Lives', for better or worse. In London right now, Bryant doesn't really seem to have many peers, though if you cast your eyes over the Atlantic you find kindred spirits in The Smashing Times, Children Maybe Later, Sad Eyed Beatniks, Famous Mammals et al. And it's true, San Francisco has had the monopoly on this kind of thing for a few years now. If that's a bit far for you to travel, perhaps you'll consider the Living Rainbow a closer-to-home alternative. They're certainly fitting of the mantle.
