Tuesday, January 04, 2005

call it weird, call it xymox

In response to the always intruiging grapejuiceplus, I present a couple of tracks from my gothic yesteryear...

Clan of Xymox has been in the unfortunate position of always being compared to other bands since their inception. Whether it's the Cure or Joy Division, Clan of Xymox has never been able to shake off the similarities to their influences. Nevertheless, the group has produced an impressive body of work that consistently absorbed new sounds while remaining faithful to the '80s goth rock menu. Clan of Xymox was formed in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, in 1983 by Ronny Moorings (vocals, guitar) and Anka Wolbert (bass, vocals). A year later, Moorings and Wolbert moved to Amsterdam, Holland, releasing the LP Subsequent Pleasures as Xymox. (The album was limited to 500 copies.) Xymox then became the opening act for Dead Can Dance in England. The band's presence on Dead Can Dance's U.K. tour caught the interest of 4AD Records, and the label eventually signed them. A year later, Xymox lengthened their name to Clan of Xymox and recorded a self-titled album in 1985, followed by Medusa the next year. In 1987, the group shortened their appellation to Xymox once again, contributing another version of "Muscoviet Mosquito," originally on Subsequent Pleasures, to the 4AD compilation Lonely Is an Eyesore. After the release of the single "Blind Hearts," Xymox left 4AD and joined Polygram/Wing.

Anything that happened with them after this point is really disappointing, so why discuss it? It was disturbing enough looking for a photo and seeing their new incarnation with their Hot Topic outfits and hair colour. bleh! These tracks were taken from a compilation put out in the mid-90s in Holland of their 4AD demos and their first EP, Subsequent Pleasures. Metropolis later reissued it, and you can buy it here.

Clan of Xymox - Stumble And Fall (Demo)
Clan of Xymox - 7th Time (Demo)
Clan of Xymox - Call It Wierd

4 Comments:

At 5:22 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"See the storms throught the broken window, see the beauty of the falling rain". I still listen to Imagination, thanks for giving me more info on (Clan of)Xymox.
Jim

 
At 6:12 PM, Blogger guanoboy said...

Thanks! Thanks! Thanks!

I love the cross-blog-discussions when they happen.

I agree about the pix of them, by the way...I originally had the same picture you do up, but ran into issues with it for some reason (it kept disappearing), and ended up with a newer one.

Now, my question to you is, were you really a "goth" (I hate terms like that)? Do tell...I listened to some "goth" music but couldn't glam onto the look...too much work.

 
At 6:27 PM, Blogger heath said...

I couldnt do the goth look at all. I just never had the cheekbones for it. you need to be emaciated to pull off the look and I had curly hair and pudgy cheeks. it never worked. so I had to dream of the goth girls from afar. alas!

 
At 10:24 PM, Blogger guanoboy said...

hehehe....the goth girls were always the best part...oh, I mean, the music...the music was the best part.

And, as usual: no, thank you!

that's in response to your thanks...

 

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