Mesh & Lace

Mesh & Lace
Mesh & Lace
Studio album by Modern English
Released	11 April 1981
Recorded	1980 Jacobs Studios, Farnham, England
Genre	Post-punk; gothic rock;
Length	42:25; 72:21 (with bonus tracks)
Label	4AD
Producer	Modern English
Modern English chronology

Mesh & Lace is the debut studio album by English post-punk band Modern English. It was released on 11 April 1981, through record label 4AD. The album was reissued on CD in 1992 with seven bonus tracks. On September 28, 2019, a digitally remastered edition of Mesh & Lace was released. It also contained bonus tracks and reimagined artwork from Vaughan Oliver, who designed the original Modern English album covers on 4AD.^[4]

Heavily inspired by Joy Division,^[5] the album is considered a pioneering work of the gothic rock and industrial genres.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[6]
Sounds	^[7]

Trouser Press panned the album, calling it "a load of monotonous droning and shouting by a precious art band oppressively weighed down by its self-conscious 4AD pretensions."^[8]

A press release for the 2019 remastered edition stated that the album "showed the band [Modern English] to be uncompromising experimentalists, leaving some to dismiss them as pretentious, but those who hung in there discovered a groundbreaking act, laying the foundation for such future musical movements as goth and industrial."^[4]

Vinyl LP track listing

All tracks are written by Modern English

Side A
No.	Title	Length
1.	"16 Days"	4:33
2.	"Just a Thought"	4:08
3.	"Move in Light"	4:45
4.	"Grief"	6:28

Side B
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Token Man"	6:32
2.	"A Viable Commercial"	4:24
3.	"Black Houses"	5:44
4.	"Dance of Devotion (A Love Song)"	5:51

CD track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Gathering Dust"	4:20
2.	"16 Days"	4:33
3.	"Just a Thought"	4:08
4.	"Move in Light"	4:45
5.	"Grief"	6:28
6.	"The Token Man"	6:32
7.	"A Viable Commercial"	4:24
8.	"Black Houses"	5:44
9.	"Dance of Devotion (A Love Song)"	5:51
10.	"Smiles and Laughter"	3:12
11.	"Mesh and Lace"	4:19
12.	"Tranquility of a Summer Moment (Vice Versa)"	7:02
13.	"Home"	3:50
14.	"Swans on Glass"	4:35
15.	"Incident"	2:38

Personnel

Robbie Grey – vocals, production
Gary McDowell – guitar, vocals, production
Mick Conroy – bass guitar, vocals, production
Stephen Walker – keyboards, production
Richard Brown – drums, production

Technical

Ken Thomas – engineering
Denis "BilBo" Blackham – mastering
23 Envelope – album cover design

References

^ "New Albums" (PDF). Record Mirror. 11 April 1981. p. 25. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^ "Mesh & Lace - Modern English - Bandcamp". Bandcamp. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2024. ...long before the band [Modern English] conquered the airwaves, it was churning out dark, moody and challenging post-punk that rivalled such peers as The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen and their then-4AD labelmates Bauhaus.
^ "40 Years of Goth: Essential Albums from the Subculture's Beginnings". 31 October 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Mesh & Lace - Modern English - Bandcamp". Bandcamp. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
^ Strong, Martin C. (2003). The Great Indie Discography. Canongate. ISBN 1-84195-335-0. pp. 423–424.
^ Ogg, Alex. "Mesh & Lace – Modern English : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
^ Waller, Johnny (2 May 1981). "Nihilism for fun and profit". Sounds. p. 29.
^ Robbins, Ira. "trouserpress.com :: Modern English". trouserpress.com. Retrieved 13 March 2013.

External links

Mesh & Lace at Discogs (list of releases)
Mesh & Lace information at 4AD's official website

[1] "New Albums" (PDF). Record Mirror. 11 April 1981. p. 25. Retrieved 24 June 2022.

[2] "Mesh & Lace - Modern English - Bandcamp". Bandcamp. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2024. ...long before the band [Modern English] conquered the airwaves, it was churning out dark, moody and challenging post-punk that rivalled such peers as The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen and their then-4AD labelmates Bauhaus.

[3] "40 Years of Goth: Essential Albums from the Subculture's Beginnings". 31 October 2017.

[:0-4] "Mesh & Lace - Modern English - Bandcamp". Bandcamp. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2024.

[Strong-5] Strong, Martin C. (2003). The Great Indie Discography. Canongate. ISBN 1-84195-335-0. pp. 423–424.

[6] Ogg, Alex. "Mesh & Lace – Modern English : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 March 2013.

[7] Waller, Johnny (2 May 1981). "Nihilism for fun and profit". Sounds. p. 29.

[8] Robbins, Ira. "trouserpress.com :: Modern English". trouserpress.com. Retrieved 13 March 2013.

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