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.
Evaporation
Shriekback Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In turn we live by touch
Blind as our first moments
All white and flame
Become the darkness see too much
And what glows warm behind us
Casts a shadow limp as sleep
Or it seems that way
The words unspoken the line uncrossed
Those dark eyes conceal their life within them
Buried secrets - the flesh won't keep
Only motion makes him
And he grows more still
A stronger impulse sinks more deep
And the sky grows white above us
Our love a fact
Like any other
Like a muscle pulsing in a seabird's wing
These welcoming doors close above us
The first verse of Shriekback's song Evaporation suggests that human perception is limited by direct light, as there isn't much we can see with it. Instead, we have to rely on touch to perceive the world around us. This theme is further emphasized by the comparison to our first moments as newborns, when everything is white and the only thing we can perceive is the intense light that surrounds us. The line "Become the darkness see too much" hints at the idea that perhaps, in darkness, we are able to see more than we can in direct light.
The second verse explores the idea of buried secrets that can't be hidden forever. The "dark eyes" mentioned may represent the secrets that the singer is trying to keep hidden, but are impossible to conceal. The line "Only motion makes him" could be interpreted as a reference to the idea that humans are constantly evolving and changing, and that no one can remain the same forever. The final line of this verse - "A stronger impulse sinks more deep" - seems to suggest that the more we try to hide something, the more it becomes a part of us and defines us.
The final verse highlights the idea that love is a constant, like the sky above us that always seems to be there. It also reinforces the idea that despite our limitations, we are still able to feel love and passion. The metaphor of a "muscle pulsing in a seabird's wing" suggests that we must constantly work to keep our love alive and growing. The final line - "These welcoming doors close above us" - could be interpreted as a reference to death, as it suggests that these doors close on us when we die.
Line by Line Meaning
Direct light - nothing we can see by
We cannot see by direct light
In turn we live by touch
We rely on our sense of touch to live
Blind as our first moments
We are as blind as we were when we were born
All white and flame
The world is bright and on fire
Become the darkness see too much
When we become engulfed in darkness, we see too much
And what glows warm behind us
There is something warm and glowing behind us
Casts a shadow limp as sleep
It casts a shadow that's as powerless as sleep
It goes on forever
It seems to go on indefinitely
Or it seems that way
Perhaps it only seems that way
The words unspoken the line uncrossed
There are things that have been left unsaid and boundaries that have not been crossed
Those dark eyes conceal their life within them
The person with dark eyes hides their life within them
Buried secrets - the flesh won't keep
There are secrets that are buried and the body cannot keep them forever
Only motion makes him
Movement is what defines him
And he grows more still
Nevertheless, he appears to become more still
A stronger impulse sinks more deep
The stronger his impulses, the deeper they sink into him
And the sky grows white above us
The sky above us turns white
Our love a fact
Our love is an undeniable truth
Like any other
Just like any other love
Like a muscle pulsing in a seabird's wing
Our love is like a muscle pulsing within a seabird's wing
These welcoming doors close above us
The doors that were once welcoming have now closed above us
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BARRY ANDREWS, CARL MARSH, DAVID ALLEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rob/Ashli Carrafa
I picked up Manhunter on VHS years ago at a pawn shop. I heard that it had something to do with the Hannibal Lector movies. I tell ya, the movie came out of nowhere and knocked me on my ass. It was SO GOOD! By no means a "perfect" movie, but Peterson and Cox's performances were incredible - not to mention Dennis Farina as Jack Crawford. (I've always loved that guy ha ha!) I love the style, mood and image that Michael Mann projected. (I'm not sure how to explain it properly lol).
It just had a solid cast and great direction. I haven't watched very many movies that left an impression on me like Manhunter did. I was still thinking about it several days later. I watched it again, and then a third time. It has almost been unanimously agreed that William Peterson's performance was moving, and I agree. Peterson is something special. Then, later on, you hear how deeply he was affected playing Will Graham, how he put his heart & soul into the character and it (more or less) changed the direction of his career afterwards.
The Red Dragon remake wasn't terrible, but it wasn't very good either lol. It was only made to rake in more cash on the Lector character before audiences lost interest in him. Edward Norton played a surprisingly dull Will Graham. He is usually an outstanding actor and very dedicated to his craft. I was expecting him to give Peterson a run for his money, but it didn't happen.
And, of course, they had to expand Anthony Hopkins role in RD and give him more screen time. They added some unnecessary scenes for Lector & Graham together.
And, as far as I'm concerned, Farina owned the Crawford character. Harvey Keitel was also boring as Graham's boss. I'm not sure why there were so many hollow performances in RD.
The movie would have been a total bomb if it wasn't for Ralph Fiennes. Dollarhyde was one of his best performances. I'm not even going to compare and contrast him and Tom Noonan, because they cut so much of the Dollarhyde character out of Manhunter. They spent an insane amount of time giving Noonan the character's tattoo, then they never showed it. And the movie's budget ran out before filming was completed, so they totally rushed the final scenes to wrap it up. It would have been great to see Noonan close out the film the same way Fiennes was able to. I am absolutely confident that he would have pulled off an equally compelling performance, had he been given the opportunity.
Heiliges Reich
One of the most beautiful tracks ever, and Shriekback's best.
Jim Gargano
Deep and powerful song..hauntingly beautiful
Sietejpk
Awesome sound ❤
amos hughes
Heard this tasty jam in the atmospheric Manhunter film with an impeccable performance by William Peterson. Shriekback's "This Big Hush" also made an appearance in the film. Both top shelf jams.
Rob/Ashli Carrafa
I picked up Manhunter on VHS years ago at a pawn shop. I heard that it had something to do with the Hannibal Lector movies. I tell ya, the movie came out of nowhere and knocked me on my ass. It was SO GOOD! By no means a "perfect" movie, but Peterson and Cox's performances were incredible - not to mention Dennis Farina as Jack Crawford. (I've always loved that guy ha ha!) I love the style, mood and image that Michael Mann projected. (I'm not sure how to explain it properly lol).
It just had a solid cast and great direction. I haven't watched very many movies that left an impression on me like Manhunter did. I was still thinking about it several days later. I watched it again, and then a third time. It has almost been unanimously agreed that William Peterson's performance was moving, and I agree. Peterson is something special. Then, later on, you hear how deeply he was affected playing Will Graham, how he put his heart & soul into the character and it (more or less) changed the direction of his career afterwards.
The Red Dragon remake wasn't terrible, but it wasn't very good either lol. It was only made to rake in more cash on the Lector character before audiences lost interest in him. Edward Norton played a surprisingly dull Will Graham. He is usually an outstanding actor and very dedicated to his craft. I was expecting him to give Peterson a run for his money, but it didn't happen.
And, of course, they had to expand Anthony Hopkins role in RD and give him more screen time. They added some unnecessary scenes for Lector & Graham together.
And, as far as I'm concerned, Farina owned the Crawford character. Harvey Keitel was also boring as Graham's boss. I'm not sure why there were so many hollow performances in RD.
The movie would have been a total bomb if it wasn't for Ralph Fiennes. Dollarhyde was one of his best performances. I'm not even going to compare and contrast him and Tom Noonan, because they cut so much of the Dollarhyde character out of Manhunter. They spent an insane amount of time giving Noonan the character's tattoo, then they never showed it. And the movie's budget ran out before filming was completed, so they totally rushed the final scenes to wrap it up. It would have been great to see Noonan close out the film the same way Fiennes was able to. I am absolutely confident that he would have pulled off an equally compelling performance, had he been given the opportunity.
Andrew Bradford
I saw this film back when it was released. Peterson was flying high off the back of Friedkin's "To Live And Die In LA", another underrated film that was really gripping for the time. That film also introduced Willem Dafoe, who has become a monumental actor. These two films represented real gritty stuff in film that's just not present in today's cinema. Mann and Friedkin were cut from the same mold.
Chris Londo
I really want to hear a Vaporwave/slowed down version of this song.
Steven Craig
This band is so completely under rated!
MrTrancemission
Yes Sr. they are amazing
simon walmsley
So haunting and used to good effect on manhunter... The whole soundtrack is superb