Swindon Pop boffins triumphant return after a six-year lay-off.
It starts with a single plucked violin string, like a solitary drop of rain, and builds to a pizzicato symphony, punctuated by the occasional parp of a trumpet. After a couple of minutes a reassuringly familiar Wiltshire burr enters the frame with a joyous cry of "Heyyy!!!!" This is "River Of Orchids", this is the sound of XTC, the first sound anyone's heard them make for nigh on six years, and it's overwhelming.
Having gone to ground after 1992's Nonsuch, a lengthy legal wrangle with Virgin (their paymasters since 1977) kept them off the record racks. Rumours that they'd knocked it on the head for good were rife; indeed, Virgin's press bumph accompanying the 1996 Fossil Fuel compilation almost gleefully referred to the group time and again in the past tense.
But back they come, now just the duo of Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding (guitarist Dave Gregory bowed out a year or so ago, last seen strumming for Blondie on live shows), and beyond the reduction in personnel there's seemingly been little building work at Planet Pop, Swindon branch. Holed away in the studio that's been their sole workplace since Partridge's much-documented stage fright removed them from the touring treadmill in 1982, XTC's flights of fancy are not limited by worries of how to reproduce their songs in a concert hall. Accordingly, Andy and Colin have all but abandoned the "group" concept and excitedly dabble in orchestral arrangements, complex vocal overdubs and "difficult" song structures.
Anyone au fait with Nonsuch or its two predecessors, Oranges & Lemons, and, especially, Skylarking will find much to make them smile; intricately plotted pocket symphonies, bursting with heart-wrenching harmonies, guitar hooks to die for, and barrels of wit and charm. A lot of work has gone into making this album, but it's a breeze to listen to.
One of the most immediately striking parallels with the groups recent past is in Partridge's lyrical concerns, as once more he gives vent to both his disdain for organised religion and his love for Mother Earth. The aforementioned "River Of Orchids" sets the mood, as Partridge dreams of England's motorways being replaced by six lanes of delicate flowers, and obvious progression from the likes of "Season Cycle", "Grass" or "Garden Of Earthly Delights". Similarly, "Green Man" offers a cod-Eastern mysticism vibe, with Partridge urging us to turn away from false idols and give thanks for the ground we walk on.
If all this makes him sound like the president of some po-faced brown rice brigade, fear not, for light relief comes in the shape of "I'd Like That", a disarmingly straight-forward love song packed with ringing Everlys-esque acoustic guitars, a slightly smutty penis/sunflower metaphor, and some of the worst gags involving famous lovers throughout history that you'll ever hear. And there aren't many people who can sing about cycling down a country lane in the pouring rain with a straight face and get away with it.
Humour is still a big part of XTC's world, although both of Colin Moulding's contributions as a writer perhaps stray a little too far into the novelty camp, sounding like companion pieces in a musical about English eccentricity. The intention of "Frivolous Tonight" may have been to merge Ray Davies with Noel Coward, but it comes across as bad McCartney redeemed by a touch of the John Shuttleworths, while "Fruit Nut" is a baffling ditty about one man's gardening obsession.
That's not to say they don't deserve inclusion here, but it's the scope and imagination of Partridge's songs that make Apple Venus Volume One (as for Volume Two - see Inside Track) such a fascinatingly eclectic delight. It's like Beck on scrumpy. "Your Dictionary" is a case in point. What starts off as a minimally acoustic, general plea for tolerance and understanding in a politically incorrect world unexpectedly kicks into a Brian Wilson harmonyfest about a couple in the death throes on their marriage.
But for all the clever wordplay ("Knights In Shining Karma" - I ask you!) and the almost scientific formula of many of the musical arrangements the most affecting song on Apple Venus is arguably the most simplistic, the stunningly honest ballad "I Can't Own Her" - brilliantly-crafted, blue-eyed soul that Daryl Hall would sacrifice a testicle to have written.
So, where do XTC stand in the 1999 scheme of things? Do Andy and Colin even care? The semi-reclusive nature of the band has meant they've never really been part of the industry, per se, although their influence on British pop, as opposed to Britpop, has never been in doubt (Blur's Parklife was very influenced by XTC). Virgin couldn't sell them to the masses, and it's unlikely that Cooking Vinyl have the cash for a big promotional push. That's a shame, because Apple Venus is possibly the most thoughtful, inventive and repeat-playable album I've heard since the early part of the decade.
Since the last XTC album, in fact.
*****
Terry Staunton
What have you been up to for the last six years?
"We actually went on strike after Nonsuch was released, praying that Virgin would drop us, which they eventually did. I was just about at the end of my tether. I just knew we were never going to make any money on that label. We had the world's worst deal - we'd call up lawyers for advice and they would laugh when they read our contract.
We became a standing joke among the legal profession. Whenever Virgin rang us to find out what we were working on, we'd just tell them we were on strike.
We had actually been doing stuff, but we'd never tell them that. They finally came to their senses in 1996 and let us go."
You were once quoted as saying XTC leaving Virgin would be like the ravens leaving the Tower Of London.
"Yeah, but I tell you, if we were ravens we'd have circled overhead and shat mightily on them before finally flying the coop. By the time we were free we'd amassed about four album's worth of material, and we got cracking on some more songs. We trimmed it all down to about two albums' worth, the first of which is Apple Venus Volume One. We'll probably have Volume Two out later in the year."
It would be silly to expect any live shows, presumably?
"I wish people would stop all this nonsense. We make fine pop records and that should be enough. Why is music the only art form where you're pressurised to duplicate what you do in front of people? No one asks artists to go up on stage and paint something again, do they?"
All original work is acknowledged as being the copyright of the originator.