I’m reviewing an album from a time when vinyl still reigned supreme over music. Not for much longer. But it remains one of the albums of my life.

It’s 2003, and I’m walking into one of New York’s biggest CD shops, in the middle of Manhattan. I’d been looking for ‘No Sense of Sin’ on CD for years. It’s the last LP I have left. I sold my records and my two turntables at the end of the 90s. The mother of my children sees me searching through hundreds of CDs. My face lit up and I burst into tears, like a child.

AND HERE IT IS !! The record of my life, bought as soon as it came out, I don’t know which channel.

 

No sense of sin from The Lotus Eaters (1984)

English pop like a fragile jewel

‘No sense of sin’ is the only album by a group, as is often the case. But what an English pop fairytale! Dreamy songs and pop, in alternation, on this album which was the survivor of my vinyl years and a cult record for its UK indie following.

In the studio, in this band of precocious and mad talent, let me present you Gerrard Quinn (future Teardrop Explodes and Wild Swans on jangle pop guitar) and Peter Coyle with his ethereal and warm voice depending on the mood.

My five favourite tracks from Lotus Eaters

  • German girl: the first sin to open the album
  • Love still flows: a sensitive, sentimental gem
  • Can’t you keep a secret: in the spirit of German Girl, there are two of us, we’re in love and we’re living it for ourselves.
  • Out on your own: harder to get into, but once you’re in…
  • When you look at boys: yes, what did the girls think of us?

“The first picture of you, the first picture of summer

See the flowers scream their joy.”

This is new wave, but it’s romantic! The guitars take centre stage, carrying us away and lulling us to sleep rather than jostling us.

This album oscillates between pop euphoria and deep introspection. Its rich, meticulously crafted soundscapes serve as a showcase for raw emotion.

The first picture of you is the most representative track on the Lotus Eaters album, a photo that kicks off the crush, the date, as we say in 2024!

Les titres de l’album expand des Lotus Eaters, import japonais

No sense of sin”: as serious and light as love

‘No sense of sin’ unfolds an intimate fresco of love, disenchantment and the search for oneself. Imbued with the youthful melancholy of my time, it resonated deeply with my experiences. Each note accompanied my first emotions, serving as a soundtrack to my passionate letters and my nights of grief, my face buried in the pillow.

Back in Belgium, I was in the FNAC and came across the same nugget, this Japanese import album packed with bonuses.

I’ve been listening to the original on repeat ever since.

Faites tourner