The End of the Eighties, Track 05

“Blind Hearts”
Xymox
Twist of Shadows
1989

Xymox is one of those all over the map bands from the ’80s. Beginning life as Clan of Xymox on the 4AD label after being discovered by Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance, they released two stunning albums (Clan of Xymox and Medusa) and a killer single (“Muscoviet Mosquito”), before dropping the “Clan of” from their name and jumping to Polygram.

Twist of Shadows landed right where it needed to for 1989, falling somewhere between the moody atmosphere of the 4AD formula and the full-on synthesizer dance pop of their subsequent album, Phoenix. It strikes the listener as both weighty and slight all at once. It has alternative cred and feels a bit like a sellout at the same time.

“Blind Hearts” is the first of a handful of tracks that originally appeared on both the BGSU mix and the Thursday’s mix. (Originally duplicated because in my mind the two playlists were for two different audiences, I de-duped the tracklistings when I combined them into one.) It reminds me of the era in general more than anything too specific though. I associate the song with Jeff at college. I remember dancing to it at Thursday’s. I remember Xymox played the Phantasy Theater and Moev opened for them (with the droning refrain of “Why would you crucify me?”).

Regardless, there is something to be said for the albums that are released at the time you’re immersed in them. Nine Inch Nails reached perfection with Pretty Hate Machine, The Cure could never top Disintegration, New Order couldn’t do better than Technique, P.W.E.I. peaked with This is the Day... This is the Hour... This is This!, The The nailed Mind Bomb, etc. And Twist of Shadows is no different for me.