Clock DVA — White Souls In Black Suits

Originally released in the year 1980, as a cassette on Throbbing Gristle's Industrial Records, White Souls In Black Suits was the first sonic fruit from Sheffield’s Clock DVA. The band, who later became known/ respected for their work in the genres of post-punk and EBM, offered up their first release as a jam-focused blend of old school industrial, avant-jazz, and experimental jam rock. Here from Mute, as either a double vinyl or CD, is the first release of the album in thirty-five years, with the remastered original fifty-minute/ nine track album being joined by four bonus tracks.

I’m reviewing the CD version of the release. The single disc is presented in a monochrome mini gatefold; on the front cover there’s an inverted picture of a bold staring man shot from the side. Inside, we get a track listing/ original cover art- which takes in a con-headed figure licking the ground. The vinyl version is available as either double black & ltd double grey vinyl.

For the original nine-track album, the line-up was. Charlie Collins – soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, sopranino saxophone, flute, percussion, bells. David James Hammond – guitar. Roger Quail – percussion. Adi Newton – vocals, synthesiser, clarinet, bowed guitar, and Steven James Turner – bass guitar.

The album opens up with around five minutes of “Consent”, which, after its few moments of eerie baying sax, jumps into a beat-up groove of snapping drums, jiving guitar, wailing sax, and male vocals which have a rather low-key Jim Morrison vibe about them. The track breaks down/ freaks out from time to time- but it’s a rather surprising opening to what was sold as a grey & bleak industrial album.

As we move through the first half of the release, we have the tip-tap percussion meets baying horn honk ‘n’ sear, and abstract vocal wail of “Discontentment 2”. There’s the clean -yet- hazy guitar plucks, feedback bays, plodding/ uneven bass tones, string saw, and lost sounding/ reverbed spoken word of “Still/Silent”.

In its second half, we have the manically chattering horns, meet guitar pluck and sort of semi-funk bass wonderings of “Contradict” with it’s waveringly/ theatrical, almost wonkly scatting male vocals. Or the bounding post-punk/ anarchic punk stomp meets wailing synth tones, crude string saws, and wailing-to- crooning vocals of “Cage”.

There’s no doubt White Souls In Black Suits is a distinctive and original debut release- been a worthy/ rewarding boiling pot of different sonic influences. It’s wonderful to see this long overdue reissue of the album.