Bark Psychosis

Despite a relatively small recorded output and little media recognition, Bark Psychosis was one of the most innovative artists of their era. From rather uninspired origins as a teenaged Napalm Death cover band, the British group evolved by leaps and bounds, moving from moody, lush pop to ambient soundscapes to taut, atmospheric experimental music; their work was so revolutionary, and so impossible to define, that noted critic Simon Reynolds even found it necessary to invent a new sub-genre -- "post-rock" -- simply to categorize their vision. Bark Psychosis was founded in 1986 while its members were attending school in Snaresbrook, England; at the time of their formation, the average age of the group -- vocalist Graham Sutton, bassist John Ling, and drummer Mark Simnott -- was just 14-years-old. Drawing inspiration everywhere from Joy Division, Swans and Sonic Youth to Five Star and early Level 42, the quartet only began taking music seriously after Sutton and Ling's graduation, and soon started composing original material. Upon signing to the tiny Cheree label, they debuted in 1988 with a flexi-disc release titled "Clawhammer." In 1989, Bark Psychosis resurfaced with their first proper single, "All Different Things"; the gauzy 1990 follow-up, "Nothing Feels," was an early breakthrough, a haunting, sophisticated record backed with the equally stunning "I Know." Keyboardist Daniel Gish, a former member of Disco Inferno, joined the band that year. Issued the following year, the Manman EP continued their remarkable growth, reflecting Sutton's increasingly fascination with techno and the possibilties of synthesziers, programming and sampling while setting the stage for the 1992 landmark Scum, an ominous, 21-minute improvisational ambient masterpiece recorded live in a...