Red Lorry Yellow Lorry are among those bands that appeared in the first half of the 1980s in the wake of the immense success of the Sisters of Mercy. Taking obvious influence from the gothfathers and also from the murky post-punk darkness of Joy Division, RLYL released their debut album in 1985 from the Red Rhino indie label--- the very same the Sisters of Mercy used to release their first legendary singles.

TALK ABOUT THE WEATHER is therefore a record which can be described as "gothic"-- in the "eighties" sense of the term, in the same way that FIRST AND LAST AND ALWAYS and "Body and Soul" or "Valentine" can be labelled as such. It features Chris Reed's deep-voiced performance, a crossover between Curtis and Eldritch over a layer of sonic wall coming out of the guitars and a drum beat setting the pace. This clearly points over to such production patterns as in "Body electric" or "Heartland".

The band however, develops its own style. The songs have their own character, even though the influences hang heavily. It's a narrow line, but the band seems to balance perfectly upon it, even in a more agressive manner than the more sophisticated, mature gothic of NOTHING WRONG, for instance.

The title track opens the album in spectacular fashion, Reed's obsessive, oblique lyrics mixing sex, emptiness and lust with great results, over a more restrained but heavy rhythm section, the drum machine pounding like a hammer.

"Hand on heart" and "Feel a piece" move in similar patterns, drum beat pulsating through, bass and guitars penetrating the speakers and Reed's more or less hypnotic, imposing vocals chanting wor(l)ds of decay, nihilism, and lust. Ian Curtis' ghost is dancing over the vocals for "Hand on heart".

And the first side ends with the underground cult single "Hollow eyes", a death-punk anthemic composition where Joy Division meets 45 Grave. Released separately on 12'', "Hollow eyes" is, along with the title track, the finest moment of side A.

"This today" speeds things up, and does so in heavier fashion, taking gothic rock to one of its most extreme conclusions, given that this is the mid-80s of course. Agression marks the lyrics as well, with indirect political messages passing through...

"Sometimes" is more melodic, and here Chris Reed makes a great demonstration of his abilities--composing, lyrical, singing. It all comes down to a very depressive, mid tempo gothic song about despair, and erotic disappointment.

"Strange dream" and "Happy" end the record in a rather dramatic, spectacular fashion. Featuring mood changes, speed shift and excellent guitar riff over pounding stabs of the drums and a droning, ominous bass deep from underneath, these songs demonstrate the band's skills, Reed now offering simple, enigmatic sentences of multiple emotions.... "and yes I am happy"....

RLYL established an impressive debut with this record. Gothic to the bone and convincing in every single song, the band had yet to impose their own persona over their collective influences, yet even at that point it was obvious that this was not a band that simply walked on other artists' path. And their next two records made it clear to all, along with a series of cult and now valuable 12'' singles...

"I am so soaked to the skin, you'll wanna talk about the weather"...