Internal antenna (inscription)
November 27, 2023 (released)
23 h
Hammill decided that the two albums suffered from an old production style and his learning curve as he began to use MIDI technology on these albums.
“In A Foreign Town” is a highly political album, very fitting in today's world as it was in '88, with its dark vocals over intense percussion and brooding and depressing synths.
The songs don't make for easy listening, but they make observations that are clear to anyone with eyes to see or ears to hear.
“Out Of Water” is much more musical and plays much more on the human condition. The percussion is still very much of its time, but the rest of the music shows Peter Hammill's softer side. The eight tracks cover topics such as Hammill's brother's suicide – 'A Way Out' – and the Tiananmen Square massacre – 'Our Oyster'.
The re-recording and re-mastering make the two albums distinctly more audible today and will hopefully improve their popularity with Hammill fans.
Definitely worth hunting down if you're a listener of Peter Hammill's music.
