Section 25 - The Key of Dreams

Section 25 may very well be the 80's band that you should have had heard about, famous for being that exactly. Formed in the late 70's by two brothers who go by the name of Larry (Bass) and Vincent (Drums/Electronics) Cassidy in 1977. A year later in 1978 they had their first live show and quickly they added their third member, guitarist Paul Wiggin. Soon enough, with the help of Factory Records Alumni Ian Curtis and Rob Gretton, they released their first 7" single "Girls Don't Count", in 1980 on Factory Records with nothing short of success. From then on out Section 25 was a mainstay until the death of the self funded and chaotic record company, basically choosing to be faithful to every direction the scene Factory Records helped build was head strong enough to be drifting towards. Their debut LP Always Now was released thereafter during the year 1981. By the time the band released their second Full Length, The self produced Key Of Dreams, the bands had toured with the likes of Joy Division, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column and New Order. Quickly enough before embarking on their first North American Tour, their guitarist left and with all the experimentation that had been placed on The Key of Dreams, the Brothers Cassidy left with an arsenal of backing tapes full of loops and sounds they felt would be put to good use. Eventually the band evolved into a more electronic acid house group with two other members (and some time soon as a five peice) playing the sort of music that would not be popular until another couple of years.

Without delay, on first hearing this album, you will hear a sound that can only be summed up by one record label, a label with the kind of fitness that is painstakingly smooth enough to put out a sound of this caliber and keep it fresh, complete and not over abundantly redundant. There is a beautiful drone sound that is played throughout this album, never once does it let on. The beauty is there and it will never fade away, it will seep through to force you into a world in which the air sways from side to side and never lets up. Early comparisons were to Joy Division and it's no doubt that if you enjoy the more brooding, darker and experimental songs that Joy Division had ultimately played with then you are going to adore the fascinating monotone vocal deliverance, archaic lyrics and minimal use of any sound; but this is more or less more reminiscent of Public Image LTD. This was quite possibly made to be a build up for the last song on the original release, Sutra, which is such a beautiful and free formed song with a delicious backing synth and tribal drum beat reminiscent of every song on the album; it seems that the purpose of the album was to prepare you for this very song, and it hits you and you realize it and you decide all 14 minutes could never be enough of what the song had offered you. The Bonus songs given on this album are all completely worth it and so magnificent, there is a reason to wonder why they wouldn't have been released on this album in the first place; in this version of the album, the king of songs belongs to the well played The Beast, not even it's remixed counterpart could take away all that it possesses. Everything is so sloppy, immoral, confused, in the right place. The album smells of a creative slow paced chaos displayed on much of its later songs.

Perfect for lying to your mother.

Section 25 - The Key of Dreams