originally published: 03/14/2025
Long-serving Manchester UK Psychonauts The Speed Of Sound present 'Eight Fourteen Monday', a compelling highlight track from their mega-album trilogy 'A Cornucopia: Minerva, Victory, Bounty', released via Californian cult label Big Stir Records.
Arriving on the heels of their latest audio-visual trip - 'Permafrost', this song narrates the everyday experience of a dreary commute to explore themes of isolation, detachment, and the contrast between superficial politeness and genuine emotion, all while subtly referencing the devastating historical event of Hiroshima.
Since their formation in 1989, The Speed of Sound's music has always been idiosyncratic and counter-intuitive, in search of something new. Creating music with lyrical bite, expanding their foundation of 1960s, punk and new wave influences, their dynamic and stylistic variation crossing borders and pushing boundaries at every opportunity.
"Light and spaciously airy, the music contrasts with the imagery of a dark and gloomy early Monday Manchester morning commute. The inevitable announcements of delays and cancelations say “we would like to apologise” rather than "we apologise”; a subtle difference with a totally different meaning. Everyone is wrapped in their own thoughts and staring at their phones, retreating internally to avoid thinking about the discomfort of the journey," says frontman John Armstrong, further noting "Eighty years ago, as of August, the bomb fell above Hiroshima at eight fourteen on a Monday."
With overlapping themes of independence - both culturally and artistically - each disc of the 'A Cornucopia' trilogy has its own vibe and personality: 'Minerva' is belligerence in musical form, 'Victory' is a manifesto of artistic creativity and 'Bounty' represents the fruits of artistic freedom, all taking place far from the grasping tentacles of the ‘music industry’.
'A Cornucopia' began with the band’s own love of the album format and a determination to make long-form music rather than merely produce a conveyor belt of unrelated singles. The interlocking themes of 'A Cornucopia' are deliberately made for album listeners to enjoy, each disc being its own standalone entity while also forming part of the larger whole trinity.
Full of ambition, energy and melodic brilliance, this three-album deluxe edition is available on vinyl and CD. Beginning with the 'Minerva' album, The Speed of Sound shared a rich bouquet of thought-provoking compositions, including the hauntingly spacious 'Trickledown', the stratospherically vast 'The Great Acceleration', the uplifting 'Mind Palace' and 'West Wind', where a recklessly fast rhythm merges with a Wagnerian horn section.
The 'Victory' album then brings 14 fresh and unexpectedly shape-shifting grooves, from the supremely danceable 'Underground', the unabashed sensuality of 'Monsoon', gothic lounge jazz of 'Permafrost', the glam-rocking 'E to F', reckless garage punk punch of 'Go For It', post-nostalgia of 'The Same River' and triumphant shimmering elegance of 'Tranquility Falls' to the strangely linked pairing of 'Apocalypse Acropolis' and 'Apocalypse Metropolis'.
The ’Bounty’ album adds to this with another ten ranging from the crunching garage rock of 'No Kicks' to the haunting floating melody of 'Virtual Reality123', acoustic driven rave-up of 'Replicant' and bouncing energy of 'Artificial Paradise'.
The 'A Cornucopia' trilogy follows 2021's critically acclaimed album 'Museum Of Tomorrow'. With this release, the band returns triumphant, defiant and redemptive with this trilogy, marking their 35th anniversary. Most music is never even recorded, and most recorded music remains unheard. ‘A Cornucopia’ is a celebration of all unheard underground music and the whole counterculture itself - music made for the pleasure of making it.
‘A Cornucopia’ is out now and available everywhere, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp, Physically the full trilogy 'A Cornucopia: Minerva, Victory, Bounty' can be ordered on both CD and vinyl at https://www.thespeedofsounduk.com/shop-2
The Speed Of Sound are: John Armstrong (songwriting, guitars & vox) – John A has developed a vivid style of guitar playing borne of combining rhythm and lead techniques in a flow that pulls the music like a tide steeped in unresolved chords and entrancing vocals.
Ann-Marie Crowley (vox & guitars) – Ann-Marie hadn’t performed rock based music before joining The Speed Of Sound in 2015 and has vast experience of Irish, folk and also classical operatic singing.
Kevin Roache (bass guitar) – Kevin has performed with John since 1990, he brings a wide understanding of playing differing genre’s including music of Indian origin, he has a highly individual outlook on the bass.
John Broadhurst (drums) – John B joined The Speed Of Sound in 2018. He has a wealth of skills including jazz, pop, rock and blues and has an ability to play with the spaces, the freedom of playing originals is liberating while the fluid and improvisational sections are something he willingly embraces.
Henry Armstrong (keyboards) – With 16 years of studying improvisational music and an intuitive approach, Henry (John's son) joined in 2018, adding a new dimension to the band's sound.
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