Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth

Another re-issue of the Young Marble Giants' one and only album, this 2cd package revisits the band's entire recorded output (a 3cd version featuring a peel session is also available). Simon Reynolds' liner notes bullishly claim that this is one of post-punk's few perfect albums, and for once the hyperbole rings almost true. For anyone who hasn't heard the album, this re-issue will be a revelation: the nascent electronic pioneers of the late 70s are a clear influence here, lending a sensual metronomic pulse to the Moxham brothers' minimal arrangements of bass and guitar. A home-made synth and drum machine completed the YMG's progressive lo-tech sound, with Alison Statton's wonderfully nuanced vocals bringing a warm human element to proceedings. The instrumental Testcard EP sounds pretty nasty in comparison, its tacky organ lines and clumsy beats confirming that Statton was right to leave the band prior to its release. It can only be a matter of time before the reunion tour. [Jay Shukla]