SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: FINI TRIBE – THE SHEER ACTION OF FINI TRIBE: 1982-1987

FINI TRIBE
THE SHEER ACTION OF FINI TRIBE: 1982-1987
SHIPWRECKED INDUSTRIES

Edinburgh may not be the first city you think of in terms of post-punk and new wave bands, but Fini Tribe (also referred to as Finitribe) did, in fact, come out of that beautiful city. Their debut EP was released in 1982, and they continued (in one form or another) to make records until the late 1990s. This new compilation focuses on their early years, 1982 through to 1987, and focuses on their EPs and singles. Plus, the compilation features BBC sessions and live tracks to round out the three-CD set.

The early 1980s were an exciting time for music, and many artists were building on what their influences had already created. For Fini Tribe, one can hear the foundation of Wire, Gang Of Four, and Shriekback (Fini Tribe’s “I Want More,” included in this set, could be a very commercial Shriekback song). However, to be clear, they had their own distinct sound. A song like “Curling Theme,” for example, is a completely original track, featuring sparse guitar and drum arrangements with a talking vocal delivery, a style that was very popular at the time. “All Fours” is more experimental than “Curing Theme,” and one can easily hear how this song would have influenced a generation of musicians and bands. It is eerie at times but never dull.

The John Peel sessions are the clear highlight of the package. The band embarks on such incredible songs and proves that the band did not need the studio to create its distinct sound. The sessions are extremely well recorded and are very stripped back when compared to the studio recordings. The band truly treats their studios like a canvas, flooding them with various colours and textures. The vocals are fantastic, and one can only imagine what it would have been like to hear it on the radio for the first time.

Hearing them live is another sound altogether, a very different and beautiful sound. A song like “I Want More,” which is a dance-oriented track, becomes somewhat more aggressive when the band plays it live. Some songs, such as “Bye Bye To The October Sky,” are much stronger as a live performance. Again, the bare, stripped-down opening and the slow build-up of the song is brilliant.

Fini Tribe was an interesting band that created some brilliant songs but also influenced others. Being from Scotland, perhaps, helped Fini Tribe. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Scotland was a hotbed for new and exciting talent at the time. Fini Tribe may have gotten lost in the crowd, but that wasn’t because of a lack of musical ability. There was so much incredible music at the time, which is another reason why this Fini Tribe-focused compilation LP is worth buying, now more than ever.

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