Murmur

Hula were founded in Sheffield in 1981. Three members (Mark Albrow, Alan Fish and Ron Wright) lived with Stephen Mallinder (Cabaret Voltaire) and Paul Widger (They must be Russians, Clock DVA, the Box) in a villa called Hula Kula. After trying the bass players Alan Watt, Chris Brain (Tense, NOS) and Mark Brydon (Chakk, Moloko), and after the replacement of Alan Fish by Nort (both drummed for the Cabs), Hula recorded the impressive album Murmur. Ingredients like cut ups, steady rhythms, and paranoia vocals were blended together into a unique white funky sound. Murmur was the band's second album and came out on Red Rhino in 1984. This was also the time of Hula's great singles - Fever Car, Get the Habit and Walk on Stalks of Shattered Glass were all released around that time. They are all added to the album as bonus tracks here making this CD about twice as long as the original vinyl album. Remastered by Attrition's Martin Bowes and the band's own Nort. First time ever on CD!

Leaving behind the garagey jangle pop of their first recordings, R.E.M. developed a strangely subdued variation of their trademark sound for their full-length debut album, Murmur. Heightening the enigmatic tendencies of Chronic Town by de-emphasizing the backbeat and accentuating the ambience of the ringing guitar, R.E.M. created a distinctive sound for the album – one that sounds eerily timeless. Even though it is firmly in the tradition of American folk-rock, post-punk, and garage rock, Murmur sounds as if it appeared out of nowhere, without any ties to the past, present, or future…

Leaving behind the garagey jangle pop of their first recordings, R.E.M. developed a strangely subdued variation of their trademark sound for their full-length debut album, Murmur. Heightening the enigmatic tendencies of Chronic Town by de-emphasizing the backbeat and accentuating the ambience of the ringing guitar, R.E.M. created a distinctive sound for the album – one that sounds eerily timeless…