Phases and Stages

The Triffids

Born Sandy Devotional (Domino)

Formed in 1981 in the miles-from-anyplace metropolis of Perth, Western Australia, the Triffids contrasted the dark-hued morbidity of then-contemporaries Nick Cave and Echo & the Bunnymen with the more delicate introspection of Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake. The result wasn’t always a model of cohesion, but the sextet’s instrumental variations dodge attempts at easy categorization. 1986’s Born Sandy Devotional is the Triffids’ most enduring album. Taken apart from the late David McComb’s opaque lyrical desolation, borderline pop songs like “The Seabirds” and “Estuary Bed” might sound at home on a John Hughes soundtrack with their celestial Eighties sheen. The same cannot be said of “Lonely Stretch” and “Life of Crime,” which are dramatic, angst-laden confessionals accented by “Evil” Graham Lee’s faraway steel guitar. The album takes one last left turn on “Tender Is the Night (The Long Fidelity),” a consoling duet delivered in the fashion of Lou Reed and Mo Tucker on “I’m Sticking With You.” This 20th anniversary reissue tacks on nine B-sides, alternate versions, and demos, including the country-goth diversion “Convent Walls” and the title track, which wound up being left off the original LP. Though not quite essential, Born Sandy Devotional exudes a chilling charm all its own.

This article appears in December 15 • 2006.

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