They are the most original, idiosyncratic and prolific band out there. They have been around for 45 years, with changing lineups, but always led by one Edward Ka-Spel, who has one of the most distinctive voices I've ever heard. Edward is also a good writer of lyrics. Their music can be gothic, psychedelic, industrial and just plain dark in a literary way, but with no association with the occult or other weird sociopolitical movements or figures. Isolation is a common theme in Edward's lyrics, though generally expressed with a poignant beauty. Always poignant beauty. There are apocalyptic images. It is good.
Early music is simple with crude arrangements, using cheap keyboards in the mix. But they evolved over the years, and their music beginning in the mid 80s got more sophisticated, though it still retained their unique character.
Where to start? Their catalog can be overwhelming, but one of my favorites is Shadow Weaver:
Or Any Day Now:
And Tear Garden, a collaboration between Edward and cEvin Key:
Here is something I wrote a couple years ago:
Legendary Pink Dots
LPD are a band that sounds like no other band ever. This is partly because their sound is dominated by the lyricist/vocalist/musician Edward Ka-Spel. In fact, his solo releases sound very much like LPD albums, though maybe stripped down some. Another reason for this unique sound is that they started before they knew how to play instruments or even how to construct songs, but as time passed, they figured it out without losing their own voice. Hence a quirky and idiosyncratic sound, though more polished as time has passed.
There are two things to understand about LPD:
1. All their albums are different.
2. All their albums sound the same.
That said, they have had multiple phases over the past 45 years, as one would expect. This website does a good job of succinctly breaking these different periods down:
https://rateyourmusic.com/list/benji_nutella/the-legendary-pink-dots-a-guide/2/ I think you can find this site by Googling “Benji Nutella Legendary”. He also recommends albums, and I don’t disagree with him. Some of my favorites are:
Any Day Now
Crushed Velvet Apocalypse
Maria Dimension
Shadow Weaver
Hallway of the Gods
A Perfect Mystery
Seconds Late for the Brighton Line
Gethsemane Option
PS. There is a “series” called Chemical Playschool, each numbered. They have mostly been a “clearing the vaults of all the stuff we didn’t know what else to do with.” These are some of my favorites (Vol 8 &9, Vol 10, Vol 15,) though they tend to the more experimental. Also, LPD does “regular releases” and interspersed are multiple side releases. It’s difficult at first to determine which is which, though generally they have a consistent label for the regular releases, while the side releases are on different labels or self released. In the early days, they did many cassette releases. Now they do that via Bandcamp (separate Legendary Pink Dots and Edward Ka-Spel pages.)
PPS. In fact, Bandcamp is a good place to sample their output over the years. Nearly everything is there.
PPPS. And don’t forget Tear Garden. Tired Eyes Slowly Burning, The Last Man to Fly, and To Be An Angel Blind, a Cripple Soul Divide are all good. The later/more recent ones seem a bit harsher. But maybe you’ll like them.
