• Track Listing

180gm vinyl LP pressing. The inspiration of Ivo Watts-Russell, This Mortal Coil emerged in the early-80s when the post-punk scene was splintering in exciting new ways and Ivo's then-fledgling record label 4AD was in the thick of it all. This Mortal Coil were not a band per se, never performing live, rather a collaboration of musicians, with both Ivo and co-producer John Fryer the only constants while the cast rotated. Debut album, It'll End In Tears (1984) forged the template for This Mortal Coil, whilst also helping to crystallize 4AD's emerging signature sound and shining a light on some of their stable with Cocteau Twins, Colourbox and Dead Can Dance all involved (the line-up was completed by Howard Devoto of Buzzcocks/Magazine fame and Cindytalk's Gordon Sharp). An important record of it's time, Pitchfork recently named it one of the best dream-pop albums ever, stating that it "catalyzed 4AD's ascendance from the stilted poetics of goth rock to the kings of gauzy transcendence."