Blue Orchids – The Flood

Here’s a little slice of postpunk obscurity from Manchester’s Blue Orchids, a band that seem to be known best – if at all – for their relationship to the Fall (guitarist Martin Bramah and keyboardist Una Baines were both ex-members). There is some resemblance between the two groups, although Bramah’s lyrics aren’t quite as off-the-wall as Mark E. Smith’s. Their vocal styles are comparable to some extent; Bramah’s is less of a caterwaul but can be equally grating if you’re not in the right frame of mind for it. I don’t really think I could listen to a full album of theirs in one sitting, any more.

The coolest thing about the Blue Orchids was Una’s organ. It sounds oddly out of place in a lot of their songs, and indeed I can’t think offhand of another band of this genre that made such, erm, effective use of it.

This is one of their poppier moments, so not surprisingly one of my favourites.