Xmal Deutschland "The Gift: 4AD Years"
This item is a pre-order. Item will ship or be available for pickup NEAR the street date. Many items do not arrive at our store until the release date, so please expect that pre-orders will NOT arrive prior to release date.
For any orders that contain pre-orders, all items will be held until every item from the order is available to ship. If you want items in-stock shipped immediately, please place a separate order for those items.
ALL SALES FINAL ON PRE-ORDERS, RSD TITLES, SPECIALTY ORDERS & RESERVE ITEMS.
ALBUM FACTS :
DESCRIPTION :
Commemorating their ‘4AD years’ (1983-1984) forty years on, the mysteriously enchanting group returns now with a brand-new release entitled Gift: The 4AD Years, out 9 May.
The extraordinary impact Xmal Deutschland had upon British audiences in the early Eighties is difficult to convey forty years on. A spell was cast by the staccato rhythms, unmediated channels and mysterious (to us) language of their music, and by the vision and strength of the women involved. Their breakthrough support slot with Cocteau Twins and first two albums with 4AD dazzled and dug deep, speaking in tones and temperatures unlike any band before or since. “And at some point, it seemed to people we just...disappeared”, muses singer Anja Huwe. “So this myth of Xmal Deutschland just got bigger and bigger over the years…”
Gift, which will fascinate newcomers just as it feeds the faithful, is brimming with presence. And if the word “gift” in German slyly relates to a kind of poison, nobody said this music was all sweetness and light. Even if its radiance resonates, four decades later. Xmal Deutschland’s 4AD years were a bold and bewitching boomerang. The magic’s back.
The limited-edition 3xLP boxset contains 2025 Abbey Road remasters of their two albums released with the label (the feverish Fetsich and titanic Tocsin), as well as tracks off other related releases and EPs including Incubus Succubus II and Qual, creating a package pulsating with power and poise. Gift’s striking cover artwork — featuring photography by Peter Schulte — was designed by Timothy O’Donnell, based on original art by 23 Envelope. It accompanies original sleeve photography by Nigel Grierson. Rounding out the package is an additional photo booklet containing images by Kevin Cummins, Paul Slattery, Sheila Rock, and more, as well as text by Chris Roberts.
