Manchester UK underground collective The Speed Of Sound present the video for The Day The Earth Caught Fire taken from their acclaimed Museum Of Tomorrow album (out now via Big Stir Records), an album described in Vive Le Rock’s review as ‘Unique and other worldly’. Here, a swagger borne of artistic confidence and wah-wah guitar lines blend with the rotating speakers of the organ leading into a bouncing infectious chorus, driven forward by the always propulsive rhythm section.
Written while wild moorland fires raged in the hills around their native Manchester The Day The Earth Caught Fire mixes the man-made horrors of climate malfunction with a joyous wake up call, encased in an alternative rock dance-anthem. All achieved while unloading The Speed Of Sounds characteristic lyrical satire and wit against both those that party as the planet burns and those unable (or unwilling) to see beyond their own narrow field of vision. The video mixes allegorical volcanic eruptions with the pervading global adhesion to raw economics and untamed greed.
The Speed Of Sound formed in Manchester UK, 33 years ago with a pre-history before that dating directly back to the day Andy Warhol died in 1987. They have now released their stunning 5th full length album.
The decades spent dwelling deep below the ‘music industry radar’ allowed the evolution of their own distinctly identifiable sound; improbably described by different people watching the same gig as simultaneously “like The Stranglers” and “like Jefferson Airplane”. With dual male and female lead vocalists it is as though Debbie Harry and Lou Reed were fronting The Who and Television at the same time. Combining the power of punk with the floating harmonies of The Byrds. Appropriately the natural beauty and order of the alphabet places The Speed Of Sound between Sonic Youth and Dusty Springfield.
Since their first release in 1989, The Speed Of Sound have continuously produced hard edged music with optimism and lyrical bite, with a DIY ethos derived from punk and a lust for experimentation taken from psychedelia. Throughout an existence far outside the major label world they retain their fierce independence.
The Speed Of Sound gravitated together from within the Manchester underground scene with a shifting collective lineup. Ever changing, ever evolving and always forward looking, The Speed Of Sound have existed as a hub for local and international independent artists; collaborating on multiple recording projects and hosting gigs for visiting acts from across the UK and further beyond; many of them making their first Manchester appearance.
Gigging across the length of the UK and also in mainland Europe, among other unusual venues The Speed Of Sound have performed in an Art Gallery, a Library, in the parlour of Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell and have been introduced on stage by Andy Kershaw (who - among other things - MC’d Live Aid).
Museum Of Tomorrow is The Speed Of Sound’s 5th full length album and can be ordered from any record shop in the UK, USA or Canada, as well as Bandcamp, or directly from the label and on The Speed Of Sound’s own website (Both of these include flat rate global shipping charges significantly lower than normal international postage.
The Speed Of Sound are:
John Armstrong - Songwriting/Guitars/Vocals: John has developed a vivid style of guitar playing borne of combining rhythm and lead techniques in a flow that pulls the music like a tide steeped in unresolved chords and entrancing vocals.
Ann-Marie Crowley - Vocals/Guitars: Ann-Marie hadn’t performed rock based music before joining The Speed Of Sound and has vast experience of Irish, folk and also classical operatic singing.
Kevin Roache - Bass guitar: Kevin has performed with John since 1990, he brings a wide understanding of playing differing genre’s including music of Indian origin, he has a highly individual outlook on the bass.
John Broadhurst - Drums: John joined The Speed Of Sound in August 2018. He has a wealth of skills including jazz, pop, rock and blues and has an ability to play with the spaces, the freedom of playing originals is liberating while the fluid and improvisational sections are something he willingly embraces.
Henry Armstrong - Keyboards: (son of John Armstrong). Born at the century’s turn, with nine years of studying improvisational music and an intuitive approach he adds a new dimension to the already mesmeric music.
Vive Le Rock - ‘Unique and other worldly”
The Big Takeover - “Unmistakeable sound - a winning formula”
Louder Than War - “A triumph of industry, imagination and talent, coolly novel and damned addictive”
The Manc Review - “a riotous maelstrom of musical mayhem”
Voix De Garage - “Plus que brillant et totalement unique!”
Zani - “A modern classic of independent music”
Here Comes The Flood - “(The Speed Of Sound have) found a way to set the post-apocalyptic imagery of writers like John Wyndham to music”