The Cathode Ray, Infinite Variety (Stereogramme)
The second album from Edinburgh's Cathode Ray is a thing of natural beauty, its attractive sleeve featuring the floral photography of frontman and songwriter Jeremy Thoms, who began the band in partnership with Paul Haig of Josef K fame but has since assumed sole leadership. If it is now quite clear that the group is much more than a Haig side-project, his influence is still often discernible in the band's sound and particularly in Thoms' vocals, which share a lot of phrasing tropes with his chum but are not blessed with the same sonorous baritone timbre.
His cohorts have past form in the TV21, The Bluebells, and The Scars and are not shy about flaunting their 1980s heritage. Much of the fun of Infinite Variety is to be had from identifying the echoes of song structures and sounds from fondly recalled discs of yesteryear: here a nod to XTC, there a soupcon of Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The Vox Continental organ that sweeps into the jerky joy of Buck the Trend is a fine example. It is also rich in the clever word-play of Thoms' lyrics, even (especially) as he has plundered a thesaurus for the middle eight.
Keith Bruce
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