The band were marked by quiet vocals and sheets of feedback with similarities to many of the so called "shoegaze" bands that pre-dated them such as Ride, My Bloody Valentine or the indie noise-pop group The Jesus and Mary Chain. FSA were able to create a small but enthusiastic fanbase as one of the more remarkable experimental rock bands of the day. The band was notable for its lo-fi approach to production, recording most of its output at home via a normal home stereo system and eschewing the traditional studio environment. This gave the music a DIY feel and allowed the band freedom to experiment as it wanted.
Other allied bands, often sharing musicians, were Crescent, Matt Elliott (a.k.a The Third Eye Foundation), Light and Amp. Many of the principal musicians involved, including Pearce, attended Farnham Art College in the late 1980s. Pearce collaborated in a variety of bands with Matt Elliott, Richard Walker (Amp) and Rachel Brook and Kate Wright (future partners in Movietone), before forming FSA with Brook (his girlfriend at the time) in 1992. Brook continued to play with Movietone throughout the history of Flying Saucer Attack, and is still a member of that group.
Early releases were limited edition vinyl 7" singles, often in handmade packaging. The first album (self-titled, but sometimes called Rural Psychedelia as those words appear on the cover) included a noisy cover of Suede's contemporary single "The Drowners", which provoked press interest in the record. The Third Eye Foundation (Matt Elliott) programmed beats, played bongos, drums, clarinet, & guitar on some tracks. Like the early singles, the album was released on FSA's own Heartbeat label, and was deliberately only made available on vinyl. Also like the singles it sold out very quickly despite minimal publicity, due to the band's cult reputation.
The album was released in the USA by VHF Records in early 1994, on CD and vinyl. The CD bore the phrase "Compact discs are a major cause of the breakdown of society" and other releases would carry messages such as "Keep vinyl alive", "Home taping is reinventing music" and "Less is more".
By 1994, the band had signed to Domino Records (which became home to many of the bands from Bristol's experimental music scene), and although records continued to be released on vinyl, CDs usually accompanied Pearce's preferred format. The first release for the new label was Distance, which collected the early singles and some unreleased material. Over the next three years the band released two albums and further singles including a cover of Wire's "Outdoor Miner", and a version of the folk song "Sally Free and Easy" which was initially only released on CD - the sleevenote explained that the pressing plant had been unable to cut it to vinyl (a US plant later achieved the feat by using a monaural master and it was issued on 12" by Drag City).
Another singles compilation followed alongside an album consisting of live tracks (mainly unstructured noise, released by Bruce Russell's Corpus Hermeticum imprint) and an LP with two long tracks constructed by fellow Domino act Tele:Funken from samples of the band. In 1995 Brook left the band to concentrate on Movietone. Chorus had a sleeve note "This album marks the end of FSA phase one", but subsequent releases (New Lands was described as "phase two") did not depart from the usual mixture of aggressive feedback and noise, and gentle folk-influenced melody.
After New Lands and a final vinyl-only 7" single, Pearce left Domino Records - one further album was released in 2000 on Pearce's own Heartbeat records, and this effectively marked the end of the group. Pearce subsequently collaborated with Jessica Bailiff under the name Clear Horizon, a self-titled album being released on Kranky Records in 2003.
Wish
Flying Saucer Attack Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But we shade away, scream to (?), we're only in the dark
I wish you were here, wish whole all along, wish I could change
I wish you were here, wish whole all along, wish I could change
Oh (?) and (?) and cycling away the dark
I can't feel it coming, can't feel it to that we're rising (?)
I wish you were here, wish whole all along, wish I could change
I wish you were here, wish whole all along, wish I could change
The lyrics of Flying Saucer Attack's "Wish" convey a sense of yearning and longing. The singer speaks of camping, hoping for the warmth of the sun, but instead finding themselves "only in the dark." They scream out, perhaps in frustration or despair. The singer then wishes that someone, perhaps a loved one, was there with them, and that things could be different. There is a sense of isolation and a desire for connection and change.
The second half of the song introduces a new image of cycling away in the dark, with the singer unable to feel that things are getting better. They repeat their wish, suggesting that it remains unfulfilled. The lyrics are open to interpretation, but one could see them as addressing themes such as alienation, depression, and the desire for intimacy and change.
Line by Line Meaning
When I go camping I (?) for the sun
When I go camping, I hope to find the sun.
But we shade away, scream to (?), we're only in the dark
However, we end up in the shade, shouting into emptiness and finding ourselves surrounded by darkness.
I wish you were here, wish whole all along, wish I could change
I desire for you to be present, wish for completeness and yearn for the power to make changes.
Oh (?) and (?) and cycling away the dark
The artist experiences sensations of confusion and disorientation, attempting to cycle away the darkness.
I can't feel it coming, can't feel it to that we're rising (?)
The artist is unable to sense a forthcoming change, nor any feeling of ascending to a better state.
I wish you were here, wish whole all along, wish I could change
Reiterating the longing for the presence of someone else, wholeness and the ability to make changes.
Contributed by Andrew L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Richard Charter
Listening to this through a stereo system with monster cables and the bass cranked. hard to quantify how incredible this music is.
barstoolshadow
this song just gave me the most peaceful panic attack.
hombredistorsion
Mad Delays, beautifull distortion and a good melodic voice. REALLY GOOD VIBRATIONS
subsamadhi
Feedback and distortion were a very 90's way of making music. I picked up an addiction to feedback-oriented bands back in the day. Still hooked.
Verónica Cláudio
Wow. It's been years since I last listened to FSA. Had forgotten how much I love them.
Delimit23
Song's one of their best.
backyardmethlab
I hope they'll reissue this on vinyl soon. The other albums made it so why shouldn't this?
Bruno Villavisencio
romantic_dude it will be released on April 21 look on vhf records
backyardmethlab
Bruno villavisencio oh my, thank you a ton!
wavertone
i believe dave used a four track at times. but it also sounds like he may have done a home stereo, boombox dump. i used that method years before i ever got a four track. you record a pass on the boombox, pop out the tape, put the tape in your stereo, press play on your stereo and record on your boombox with a new tape, play along with a new passage and repeat till it sounds insane.