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Tuesday 7 April 2020

The Sky Is Turning Grey


Killing Joke's calling card from 1979 was Turn To Red, their debut e.p. and its title track, a piece of monumental dub/post punk. Youth's heavy bass playing over the top of the locked groove is the bedrock. Over this Geordie Walker plays scratchy, delay- laden guitar. Sounds bounce around and fire off the walls of the recording. Jaz's vocal is covered in echo and the lyrics tell of dread, the coming apocalypse and everyday horrors-

'Chaos for breakfast
There's something in the air
Everybody can feel it
Red sky in the morning
4-minute warning
Turn to red'


Turn To Red

3 comments:

The Swede said...

Blimey, this still sounds good doesn't it?

Swiss Adam said...

It's remarkable how many debut singles from this period are so good.

Jez said...

Still sounds ahead of its time - And a few of KJ's other tunes seem quite appropriate for the current times!!