At first, they enjoyed some success on the dance charts on their original Y Records label, releasing material such as 1983's 'Care', but the guys left for the big time on Arista Records for 1984's 'Jam Science'. Finding little success there, they switched to Island Records for the next year's breakout, 'Oil & Gold'. This album signaled a shift for the band, with Carl Marsh leaving the group and rockers Martyn Barker and Lu Edmonds joining what was now Andrews' vehicle. Indeed, Allen left the band after the followup, 'Big Night Music', came about, and Shriekback remained a collaborative around Andrews.
Dave Allen would go on to play in King Swamp, The Elastic Purejoy, and most recently in the reformed Gang of Four. Carl Marsh went on to serve in the band Happyhead. Both Allen and Marsh did return to the studio to contribute to the recording of Shriekback's 2003 release, titled 'Having a Moment'. Shriekback's material has essentially been an outlet for Andrews' personal work for many years now, also including collaborations with alternative music artists such as Wendy & Sarah Partridge (formerly of Electric Guitars) and Finn Andrews (Barry's son who is also of The Veils).
The band's best-known song is "Nemesis", which has received wide airplay on the indie/college circuit. The new wave song was notable among the rock tracks of its day for its use of unusual imagery and lyrics, including the use of the word "parthenogenesis" in the chorus. Shriekback is also known for having their dark, dramatic songs used in the Hannibal Lecter film 'Manhunter', their work being influenced by previous horror soundtrack music.
Berlín
Shriekback Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Running blue veined caged tight fast past the flesh windows
And he was not expecting anything
Not the angel choir inside his head
Or the litmus test of doves
And there they were
And he felt the rolling fever hands of light upon him
Felt the beady eyes of the night upon his back
Everything he said turned into something else
And he said, "What kind of beast am I?"
And he said, "Who brings the tablets down this mountain?"
And he said, "Is this where I live?"
And he said, "Ah, sometimes I feel so full."
And a voice answered saying,
"You are an aerial hung up to the Divine,
You are a beach for the waves of the world to crash on,
You are the spilt wine...
You are the spilt wine at the table of the gods."
And through the wet streets of the city
Washed bloody with the warfare of the ghosts
There is a shining something
There is a shining something
And death is only one of its faces
Love is only one of its faces
And he said, "I will be a testament to this
I will be consumed in this
I will be a run of sparks around the coils of this labyrinth
I am the roar of the bees in summer
I am a winged victory
And this is my epiphany
I am a winged victory
This is my epiphany
I am a winged victory
And this is my epiphany."
The first verse of the song describes a man who is walking alone in the night, trying to blend in with the shadows around him. He runs past windows and is aware of the hands of light and the eyes of the night watching him. He is not expecting anything, but suddenly he starts to question everything - his identity, his purpose, his existence. He feels like everything he says turns into something else, and he wonders what kind of beast he is. He asks if this is where he lives and admits to feeling so full at times.
Then a voice answers him, telling him that he is an aerial hung up to the Divine, a beach for the waves of the world to crash on, and the spilt wine at the table of the gods. The voice tells him that there is something shining through the wet streets of the city, even though they are washed bloody with the warfare of the ghosts. Death and love are just two faces of this shining something. The man declares that he will be a testament to this shining something, to be consumed in it, and to be a run of sparks around the coils of this labyrinth. He is the roar of the bees in summer, and a winged victory. He has had an epiphany and feels like a winged victory.
This song is about the journey of self-discovery and finding one's purpose in life. The man in the song is lost, and he wanders aimlessly until he starts to question his existence. He is confronted with the idea that he is part of a bigger picture, part of something divine and greater than himself. The shining something is a metaphor for the purposeful existence of everything around us, and the man realizes that he wants to be part of it. He wants to be a testament to it, to be consumed by it, and to be part of the larger journey.
Line by Line Meaning
He was walking at night mixing himself with the shadows
He was moving through the darkness, blending into it seamlessly
Running blue veined caged tight fast past the flesh windows
He was racing past the confines of society, the life and the flesh that lay within it, enclosed in his internalized struggles
And he was not expecting anything
He wasn't looking for anything outside of himself
Not the angel choir inside his head
Even the voice within him that urged him to higher ideals was not what he sought
Or the litmus test of doves
Nor was he seeking validation from any external trial or challenge
And there they were
Despite his lack of expectations, he encountered something significant
And he felt the rolling fever hands of light upon him
He was overtaken by a powerful, almost sensory experience
Felt the beady eyes of the night upon his back
He was aware of his surroundings; the darkness seemed to be watching him
And everything he said turned into something else
His world was so transformed that even his speech, the very expression of his thoughts and emotions, became altered
And he said, "What kind of beast am I?"
He was questioning his identity, his place in the world
And he said, "Who brings the tablets down this mountain?"
He was pondering the origin of knowledge, inspiration, and guidance
And he said, "Is this where I live?"
He was questioning his location and situation in life
And he said, "Ah, sometimes I feel so full."
He acknowledged the complexity and depth of his thoughts and feelings
And a voice answered saying,
In response to these queries, a revelation was granted to him
"You are an aerial hung up to the Divine,
He is a beacon to the supernatural, channeling its energy
You are a beach for the waves of the world to crash on,
He is constantly in the path of the world's forces, but as a strong foundation
You are the spilt wine...
He embodies the sense of the magical, that something so sacred could be lost so lightly
You are the spilt wine at the table of the gods."
He embodies the divine, something so profound as to be revered even by celestial beings
And through the wet streets of the city
The vision continued and flowed across his physical environment
Washed bloody with the warfare of the ghosts
The city was plagued by the demons of the past, the emotion bleeding into its present
There is a shining something
But still, there persisted a faint glimmer of hope and beauty
There is a shining something
A reminder that amidst the darkness and confusion, something valuable can still be found
And death is only one of its faces
He recognized that there is much more to this world that might be apparent
Love is only one of its faces
Love is but an aspect in the grand scheme of things
And he said, "I will be a testament to this
He had found purpose from this experience
I will be consumed in this
He aimed to be completely devoted to this newfound knowledge
I will be a run of sparks around the coils of this labyrinth
He is a part of this great system, contributing to its complexity, and affected by it in return
I am the roar of the bees in summer
He understands his power and is ready to use it like the fierce buzzing of bees in summer
I am a winged victory
He is triumphantly reaching new heights and his victory is himself
And this is my epiphany
This is his awakening, an absolutely new dawn in his life
I am a winged victory
He repeats this, and this solidifies the concept and the image of him being victoriously set free
This is my epiphany
He again declares in certainty that he had a life-changing realization
Contributed by Joshua N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
El is a superior dork
A little bit dissapointed at the sheer lack of comments over here. HmWell, a big thank you to Shriekback, for this magnificent track from ‘Naked Apes’, and also to you, Tinhuviel, for putting this up for all us shriek fans to listen to.
By the way, one of those images in the video, the one that says ‘Berlin Remixes and Captain Cook’ or something like that- what is this mysterious object? What are its origins? In what ways does it exist in the material world?
Tinhuviel
It was an item offered through the old Shriekback Digital Conspiracy site and the Yahoo group. I believe I still have it, but it's currently packed away, as I am in the process of moving. Hit me up sometime in June to jog my memory, and I will try to find it, and share with you the songs.
El is a superior dork
I’ll try to remember (my memory is a bit dodgy, and tends to drop most things after about 3-5 days)- thank you most kindly!
Shame that I missed out so many wonderous shriekback things. My brother didn’t start to re-discover Shriekback until years after Life in the Loading Bay was new. And I was even slower to come.
Should I just drop a comment when the time comes, then?
Thanks.
Tinhuviel
If you haven't already, you may want to join Shriekback's Facebook page and sign up for their newsletter at shriekback.com. Barry tends to use those almost exclusively. They're currently recording a new album, and it sounds fantastic so far.
El is a superior dork
Ah yes. I don't use Facebook, but I've been signed up to the mailing list for some time now! I do visit the FB page, even if I don't have a FB account. I've heard the sampler, and I'm very, very exited for the new album. Also, very much hoping that they'll do a vinyl release for it, like WRSOF. Something about the big glossy disk, and the size of the artwork has kinda hooked me onto the format. Have at home, copies of Jam Science, Oil and Gold, Care (US ver), Big Night Music (My favorite), WRSOF (a signed copy!), and the rare Sacred City (Only released in Greece, apparently). I still haven't gotten a chance to listen to my Sacred City vinyl yet, only got it last week, and life has been busy.
El is a superior dork
F*ck I’m late (my memory lapses) but if situation still serves, I am still intruiged about the CDr of which you posess.. and just about any obscure shriekback what have you that is unprocurable via the vast internet. Even with the wonders of this global conspiracy of information, not everything manages to surface. And I am a fan of shriekback no doubt, and quite fascinated with their more ellusive work (such as music from the ‘90s, up until Having a Moment, most of which is terribly difficult to locate, except for sacred city, and the tracks that kind people such as you have uploaded.