Friday, March 6, 2020

Quinn the Eskimo - The Mountain is a Dandy (1988, Summerhouse)

If Quinn the Eskimo strike you as a "lost" band from the Brit C86 indie pop scene...that's pretty much because they were.  So lost in fact, the quartet surprisingly haven't been anthologized on any of the myriad of recent/semi-recent compilations documenting their rather revered stripe of music.  Groomed on the likes of The Smiths, Orange Juice, early Sarah Records, etc, the quartet in question may not have arrived at the table first, but their jangle/strum aesthetic was tempered by mild folky undercurrents (thankfully not in the same wheelhouse as say, The Proclaimers.  Typically with bands of Quinn's ilk I gravitate to the more upbeat songs, and with that in mind, "Samantha Rain," "Eastwood," and the Byrds-ian persuasions of the sprite "Breathing" begged many a repeat listen.  Despite their moniker, you'll find no Dylan-isms to unfurl on any iota of this record.  A concise blurb summing up The Mountain is a Dandy can be perused here. Enjoy.

01. Samantha Rain
02. Breathing
03. Big Hedge
04. The Haymaker
05. Like a Flame
06. Eternity
07. Once Upon a Day
08. The Wreck
09. Eastwood
10. The Importance of Being Honest

Hear

4 comments:

Allen Lulu said...

Just found your blog. I am working on a project wherein we attempt to listen to every "rock" release of the 80s and post the reviews to our community on FB. I cross post them for collection on my blog.
You are such a great resource. Do you have any way to list your reviews of albums based on their release year? I don't see a year labeled. Thanks!

spavid said...

In the search bar in the upper left corner of my blog just search 1980, 1981, etc. Some of the links are dead, so if you need that restored let me know. What's the name of your FB group? Is it active yet. Am intrigued.

Allen Lulu said...

Thanks. I will do that. The group is called "The Listening Post: the 80s". It's a private group but if you ask I will approve you. We are 600 records in to 1986. Your blog has been an immense help. We can usually find the album on Apple Music, Spotify or YouTube but just the research alone has been extraordinary.

Allen Lulu said...

Also, I have cross posted all the reviews on my own blog, http://septenary.blogspot.com/ and they are labeled by band and year.