The Sound
From The Lions Mouth

THE REVIEW

May 18, 1980.
Written like this, this date could mean everything and nothing.
That day, Ian Curtis, singer and mastermind of Joy Division, was found dead in his apartment, and also thanks to his extreme act, his creation entered the firmament of those few bands that would later become muses inspiring hundreds of more or less valid followers.
April 26, 1999.
Almost in silence in the panorama of major labels and music programs increasingly dominated by the lobbies that decide what to push to success, at 52 years old, Adrian Borland's life ended against a train, the singer, composer, and guitarist of The Sound.
That is to say, of one of the most unjustly underrated bands of the dark and new wave movement that brought success to people like The Cure, Siouxsie, and company.
This “From the Lions Mouth”, in addition to being a finely crafted product, does not pale in comparison with albums like “Pornography”, “Juju”, or the same “October” by U2, released more or less in the same period, represents a stylistic progress compared to the commendable debut “Jeopardy”, which is perhaps a bit more raw and unpolished, a fact due to the presence of more punkish nuances.
The album in question, on the other hand, stands out from its predecessor for its more relaxed atmospheres and, therefore, the lack of Borland’s riffs, accompanied by the rhythmic section, that had distinguished in Jeopardy pieces like “Missiles”, “Heyday”, and “Resistence”, to cite, in my opinion, the most representative songs.
In “From the Lions Mouth”, Borland’s hand becomes gentler and intertwines magical melodies that inevitably captivate you from the first to the last track.
The opener “Winning” is one of those breath-taking openings, where Borland’s arpeggios stand out against the hypnotic backdrop of keyboards that accompany it for the entire duration of the song.
But all the gems of this album deserve great attention, both in the more psychedelic episodes like the beautiful “Judgement”, where Borland’s voice becomes melancholic and anguished, touching you deeply as only the late Curtis could do, and “Silent Air”, with its alluring and graceful sounds, of a particular evocative power, as well as in those typically more wave and with darker hints like “Sense of Purpose” that could easily fit in “Seventeen Seconds” by The Cure, “Skeletons” and “The Fire”, the more upbeat songs where the bass gains speed and Adrian’s solos perfectly contrast his more assertive and full-bodied singing.
But perhaps the best episode is to be found in “Possession” where Borland’s voice seems truly possessed by that of Ian, enveloped in a dark and fascinating ambiance.

April 26, 1999.
A date to remember as much as May 18, 1980.
With the hope that The Sound will reach that firmament where Joy Division have stayed for almost three decades, and that Adrian Borland can represent the same inspiring muse in the future that Ian Curtis was for him, with whom he shares the same tragic end.