THE TRIFFIDS - A Retrospective
The Triffids were a critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful Australian band of the 1980's. Starting on the Hot! Record label there were a number of releases in Australia only. They released six studio (or sheep shed!) recorded LPs (one of those a six-track mini-LP) and there have also been 2 compilations and a live album.
In 1984 the band came over to the UK on a fact finding mission and seemed to spend most of the remainder of their career over here. It was on their first visit to the UK that I first came across the Triffids as a replacement support band on Echo & The Bunnymen's autumn tour in 1984. The band had been only in the UK for a few weeks playing live shows and garnering themselves quite a reputation. They sounded like, well not a lot else then or since. Whilst some of their earlier shows in the UK suggested similarities to other Aussie bands such as the Birthday Party with a heavy almost Gothic sound, the main influences of main songwriter David McComb seemed to be more country rock. Few of their recordings actually represent this heavier aspect.
Although the initial shows featured mainly material from their first 2 Hot! LP's, 'Treeless Plain' and 'Raining Pleasure', the sound was quite startling compared to the recorded versions of the material. The best representation of the Triffids at this point was the 'Field of Glass' EP, in actual fact their first John Peel session, released later on Hot! Records. But first let's backtrack to take in the first 2 LP's.
'Treeless Plain' is an LP of good songs poorly recorded. To say that it is under produced is something of an understatement. That said it's still worth having for there are a number of Triffids' classics contained within the sleeve. Whilst the 'Treeless Plain' min-LP was slightly better recorded, it still paled by comparison with the live shows and the eventual release of the first Peel Session on record suggested that this might be the direction that they were moving in.
But it wasn't. The third LP was preceded by a single Wide Open Road which hinted at the majoesty to be found on the record.
A move to Island Records in 1987 didn't result in the commercial success many thought that they were capable of despite being a decent stab at taking the band in a more accessible direction without compromising their sound. A final LP The Black Swan saw the band taking their sound in all sorts of strange directions, quite successfully but the band broke up shortly afterwards largely due to financial pressures.
Main man David McComb had a sporadic recording career (at least in the UK) with only the one LP (Love of Will), which sounds like the Triffids in their heyday. Tragically David died on 2nd February 1999.