Peter Jefferies - The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World (1990)

1, Chain or Reaction

2. Domesticia

3. On an Unknown Beach

4. Guided Tour of a Well Known Street

5. The House of Weariness

6. Cold View

7. Likewise

8. The Fate of the Human Carbine

9. Catapult

10. The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World

11. While I've Been Waiting

12. Neither Do I

13. The Other Side of Reason

14. Listening In

An album I admire greatly but can't listen to often due to Jefferies' difficult arrangements and intentionally off-key drone singing.

Features songs you might recognize without having heard the album such as On an Unknown Beach and The Fate of the Human Carbine.

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This Kind of Punishment - A Beard of Bees (1984)

1. Prelude 2:08

2. From the Diary of Hermann Doubt 3:19

3. The Horrible Tango 4:36

4. Trepidation 3:56

5. East Meets West 3:51

6. Turning to Stone 4:30

7. Although They Appear 3:54

8. The Sleepwalker 3:36

9. An Open Denial 7:12

This Kind of Punishment was a band formed by Graeme and Peter Jefferies who both released fantastic albums before and after A Beard of Bees, writing songs which would be covered by people like Amanda Palmer and Cat Power.

The melancholy piano parts that would, in my opinion, make At Swim Two Birds as good as it is both introduce the listener to and close A Beard of Bees. It's lo-fi, it's post-punk, and it's experimental, but it's also just really introspective and dark. The two final tracks The Sleepwalker and An Open Denial are the best.

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