The band originated in Perth in the late 1970s. They went through various line-up changes until the early 1980s when they moved to Sydney and later Melbourne and released their first LP Treeless Plain. The band toured extensively in Europe and caught the attention of the UK music press, being featured on the cover of NME twice.
Four albums followed - Born Sandy Devotional, In the Pines, Calenture and The Black Swan before the group disbanded in 1989. David McComb and "Evil" Graham Lee joined the Blackeyed Susans while Martyn P Casey joined Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. McComb later pursued a solo career which failed to match the success of his time with the Triffids.
In 1996 David McComb received a heart transplant due to his alcoholism and drug use. He died in 1999 of heart complications. In 2006 the Triffids' back catalogue is being remastered and re-released, beginning with Born Sandy Devotional. In June a brief European tour was undertaken by the remaining members, with guest vocalists filling in for McComb.
The Triffids - Treeless Plain (1983)
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The Triffids' first single was released in 1981, but the band's full-length debut, Treeless Plain, didn't emerge until two years later. By then, the group had relocated from Perth to Sydney and solidified its lineup with the addition of Jill Birt (keyboards) and Martyn Casey (bass). Although frontman and principal songwriter David McComb drew on a primarily American rock tradition for inspiration (Bob Dylan, the Doors, Television, and the Velvet Underground), the resulting songs were always inextricably linked to his native Western Australian environment. Indeed, the title of this album refers to the Nullarbor ("no tree") Plain, the desolate area the band regularly traversed en route to Perth's nearest significant neighbor, Adelaide -- a 32-hour drive. Comprising material that had been honed in live performance and recorded over a dozen midnight-to-dawn sessions, Treeless Plain underscores the Triffids' knack for blending folk and country with indie rock in a way that anticipated the rise of alt-country in the '90s. While "A Place in the Sun" and "Rosevel" attest to that dimension of the band's sound, it is best embodied in the majestic "Red Pony," with its hypnotic, mournful strings. McComb's characteristically dark narratives are also well-represented -- for instance, the bass-heavy groove, syncopated percussion, and stinging guitar of "Hanging Shed" suggesting a more melodic version of the Birthday Party. The energized, thumping makeover of Dylan's "I Am a Lonesome Hobo" and the driving "A Hell of a Summer," both featuring McComb's vocals at their most commanding and resonant, rightfully remained live favorites until the band's demise. Treeless Plain piqued interest in the U.K. -- where the band ultimately enjoyed the bulk of its success -- and offered incontrovertible evidence of McComb's skill as a songwriter with a unique lyrical and musical vision that would be fully realized on Born Sandy Devotional.
1. Red Pony - 4:11
2. Branded - 2:44
3. My Baby Thinks She's a Train - 3:36
4. Rosevel - 2:59
5. I Am a Lonesome Hobo (Bob Dylan) - 2:14
6. Place in the Sun - 2:22
7. Plaything - 3:10
8. Old Ghostrider - 3:09
9. Hanging Shed - 4:02
10. Hell of a Summer - 4:30
11. Madeline - 2:35
12. Nothing Can Take Your Place - 2:49
The Triffids - Raining Pleasure (1984)
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1. Jesus Calling
2. Embedded
3. St James Infirmary
4. Everybody Has To Eat
5. Ballad of Jack Frost
6. Property is Condemned
7. Raining Pleasure
The Triffids - Field Of Glass (1985)
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Field Of Glass by The Triffids was released as a 12" EP in 1985. All the songs were generally recorded live at BBC Studio 5, Maida Vale, London. The EP was produced by Mark Radcliffe, engineered by Mike Robinson, engineered by Owen Davies and remixed by Nick Cook at Townhouse 3.
The first two songs, "Bright Lights, Big City" and "Monkey On My Back", deal directly with David McComb�s drug abuse and are infused with bitterness and desperation. The song which gave its name to the EP tells the tale of a loner who has some unrequited love issues with a rich girl who�s just finished school. He pleads with her to ride with him on a baking hot summers night and she goes along. Driven mad by the intolerable heat and by her rejection he murders her.
1. Bright Lights, Big City
2. Monkey on My Back
3. Field of Glass
The Triffids - Born Sandy Devotional (1986)
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http://rapidshare.com/files/75712759/trf-bsd_86.part2.rar |
With Born Sandy Devotional, the Triffids fully realized the potential shown on their earlier releases, Treeless Plain and Raining Pleasure. By 1985 the band was based in London, but despite the fact that this album was recorded 9,000 miles from home, its roots lie deep in the Triffids' native western Australia. While the spectacular cover photograph featuring the township of Mandurah provides a sense of place, David McComb's songwriting evokes his home environment all the more vividly. Indeed, this is the most accomplished work from McComb's tragically short career, encapsulating his talent for creating a lyrical and musical resonance between the stark, isolated geography of western Australia and universally recognizable, desolate interior landscapes. Born Sandy Devotional certainly is dark, its lyrics replete with death, psychological turmoil, and despair, but it's never maudlin or banal. McComb's commanding delivery combines with expansive, string-adorned arrangements to elevate many of these songs to the level of high emotional drama; haunting keyboards, vibes, and "Evil" Graham Lee's pedal steel add atmospheric detail. The elusive quality of McComb's writing makes his stories all the more compelling and memorable as he offers listeners fragmented, unresolved scenes instead of comfortable, complete narratives. Such elements coalesce sublimely on "Stolen Property" and "The Seabirds," songs of loss and suicide, respectively, but the anthemic "Wide Open Road" and the intense, claustrophobic "Lonely Stretch" are the standouts. Another tale of life gone wrong, "Tarrilup Bridge" sets organist Jill Birt's childlike vocals amid an eerie ambience of vibes and strings. Nevertheless, the album closes on a cautiously optimistic note with Birt's duet with McComb, "Tender Is the Night." Born Sandy Devotional was a landmark release for the Triffids. More than that, it stands as a testament to McComb's status as one of Australia's most gifted (and overlooked) rock songwriters.
1. The Seabirds
2. Estuary Bed
3. Chicken Killer
4. Tarrilup Bridge
5. Lonely Stretch
6. Wide Open Road
7. Life Of Crime
8. Personal Things
9. Stolen Property
10. Tender Is The Night (The Long Fidelity)
Bonus tracks:
11. The 707
12. When A Man Turns Bad
13. Of The Plaza
14. White Shawl
15. Convent Walls
16. Time Of Weakness
17. Born Sandy Devotional
18. Wish To See No More
19. Tender Is The Night
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