CARDIACS – Heaven Born And Ever Bright (Reissue) – LP – Violet Vinyl

LP – Limited Edition Violet Vinyl.

Heaven Born and Ever Bright is the third studio album by British rock band Cardiacs. It was produced by Tim Smith, engineered by David Murder and mixed by both.

Cardiacs are an English rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith (guitar and lead vocals) and his brother Jim (bass, backing vocals) in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. One of Britain’s leading cult rock bands, Cardiacs’ sound folded in genres including art rock, progressive rock, art punk, post-punk, jazz, psychedelia and heavy metal (as well as elements of circus, baroque pop, medieval music, nursery rhymes and sea shanties), all of which was topped by Smith’s anarchic vocals and impressionistic lyrics. Their bizarre sound and image made them unpopular with the press, but they amassed a devoted following Tim Smith was the primary lyricist, noted for his complex and innovative compositional style. He and his brother were the only constant members in the band’s regularly changing lineup.

The band created their own indie label, the Alphabet Business Concern, in 1984 and found mainstream exposure with the single “Is This the Life?” from their debut album A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window (1988). Their second album, On Land and in the Sea (1989), was followed by Heaven Born and Ever Bright (1992), which displayed a harder edged, metal-leaning sound retained in the subsequent albums Sing to God (1996) and Guns (1999). Tim Smith was hospitalised with dystonia resulting from a cardiac arrest in 2008, which brought increased and belated critical recognition to Cardiacs, with several music outlets calling Sing to God a masterpiece. His death in 2020 saw a raft of tributes on social media.

Tracklist:

1. The Alphabet Business Concern (Home Of Fadeless Splendour)
2. She Is Hiding Behind The Shed
3. March
4. Goodbye Grace
5. Anything I Can’t Eat
6. Helen And Heven
7. Bodysbad
8. For Good And All
9. Core
10. Day is Gone
11. Snakes-a-Sleeping