Closely Watched Trains vinyl

Fronted by an intense Sri Lankan singer with a mysterious past, Glorious Din were unlike any other group to emerge from San Francisco's '80s underground. Their second second album, Closely Watched Trains gets a reissue here, but it had a very different sound from its predecessor. Cope was said to be listening to a lot of Nick Drake, so they mixed the vocals and guitar much louder than the other instruments. Nevertheless, the album showed a growth and maturity on the band's part. Jay Paget plays a metal dobro on some numbers, which adds a sheen of folk to the post-punk proceedings. Doug Heeschen and Pete H completed the lineup of this short lived act. The enigmatic group acted as a catalyst, helping total unknowns to gain recognition and being the uncommon glue linking Faith No More, The Dead Kennedys and Michael Franti (Spearhead), as well as R.E.M and the Cocteau Twins: such is the reach of their influence. They also went on to form a label named Insight, which originally released this very album, in addition to an album by Los Angeles based industrial act Spahn Ranch - which Cope produced.