MOORE, ANTHONY - Home of the Demo

"Anthony Moore's post-Slapp Happy output, for years an underrated-to-outright unknown quantity, achieves another dimensional plane with this third archival release from his personal tape library. Home of the Demotriangulates upon the art-pop qualities found in his previously unreleased OUT (1976, officially issued 2020) and the new wave-adjacent Flying Doesn't Help (1979, reissued 2022), finding Anthony's early/mid-'80s compositions drifting into the actual mainstream, just moments before it began giving way to the inevitable Next Waves. Home of the Demo unpacks ten tracks from what might otherwise be called a lost era. Subtitled 'from the dawn of bedsit recording,' this collection largely represents something nearer to DIY than any of your fancy modern kit! As Anthony remarks in his liner notes, 'We are talking about a few hundred quid's worth of gear balanced precariously on bookshelves and table tops in bedrooms and basements.' And yet, the tracks sound right dreamy. Anthony was a songwriter and musician whose first decade-plus in the music 'business' had brought him outside-in, through experimental/avant projects into the pop music world he'd loved as a youngster. He was an old hand at getting sounds as well; distinctly '80s elements that might abrade the ear instead benefit from his tactile deployment of that gear stacked up on tables and bookshelves in the basement. In this manner, he produced well-appointed, ambitiously clever songs for himself and others, such as his friend David Gilmour's band, who used a couple pieces on Home of the Demo for their 1987 comeback album. Amidst the assiduous work of writing the Next Big One, a relaxed, almost playful mood prevails throughout the pieces assembled here -- as one might imagine at home demo sessions where one man plays all the parts. It's also true for the numbers that feature special guests, such as the ominously monikered 'Page The Oracle' on lead guitar -- or the singer simply dubbed, 'Guest' -- no doubt a safe alias for a hot young Bunnyman rising to his commercial peak in those halcyon days."