In 1983, under the guise of The The, Matt Johnson burst onto the scene with a richly ambiguous offering of pop like no other. Soul Mining ripped into the very heart of the 1980s soundscape and bled through as something strikingly fun and irresistible. Alice Beard revisits this forgotten gem.
There is not one term I can find to describe this album accurately. I’ve seen The The referred to as synth- pop and post- punk alike, yet the unique sound captured in this LP is something entirely unclassifiable. Soul Mining overflows with a kaleidoscope of musical influences, a lavishly packed collection of a quality which cannot be recreated. With seven songs we are served up a healthy dose of self- loathing and furious contempt as Matt Johnson lashes out at a world he hates but so desperately wants to love. In many ways, the album is very much of its time with its anti- Thatcherite digs escaping through Johnson’s acerbic wit and manner. Equally though, there was nothing else quite comparable in 1983. This album walks between the fine lines of genres as folk, funk and punk (to name a few) clash into something entirely ambiguous.  This gaudy offering culminates into a tightly wound display of songwriting to reflect a peculiar vision of pop which altered the musical landscape in ways incomprehensible. Â
From the very first track we are hit with some startling gashes of self- abrasion. I’ve Been Waitin’ For Tomorrow (All Of My Life) wastes no time in divulging in the themes of disillusionment and dismay which run through the very core of the LP. ‘All my childhood dreams are bursting at the seams/ And dangling around my knees’- this is simply the start of Johnson’s lyrical incisions into the self which only deepen as the album progresses.
"the track contains the same rich glows as a sweet summers day"
The following track needs little introduction. Bringing about a hazy atmosphere of hope and tentative introspection, This is The Day is a call to arms for the downtrodden. It may appear to start out bleak, but Johnson soon makes clear the only way is up from here- ‘This is the day your life will surely change/ This is the day when things fall into place’. Accordion and fiddle melt beautifully to create a song which is a beacon of warmth and optimism beneath the previous mood of bitterness and unease. To me, the track contains the same rich glows as a sweet summers day. I think there is nothing more I can add from there. If we pair this track with the equally staggering Uncertain Smile, we discover the beating heart of the album. Here, in just under seven minutes, we are exposed to a masterclass in narrative songwriting. ‘Peeling the skin back from my eyes, I felt surprised’- from these very first moments of bliss all you have to do as a listener is sit back and wait for the rest to unfold. There is something unbeatable about this piece. First and foremost, the guitar is nothing short of dazzling. It’s a simple riff all in all but nevertheless one so captivating I proceeded to pick up my guitar and learn it upon my first time hearing it. Johnny Marr may not have joined forces with Johnson until 1989, but there is a suspiciously Smiths- esque quality to the riff that I will never get bored of. And just when you think the track can’t get any better, Jools Holland lets loose with his foot- stomping piano shuffle. Recorded in just one take, the former Squeeze member elevated this piece to incomparable heights- for which we should all be eternally grateful.
"Johnson knows how to speak his mind and what to do with his most profound musings, making quite sure no soul is left untainted"
Tracks such as The Sinking Feeling and The Twilight Hour weave in new layers of complexity to an album already so lush with greenery. The music itself is as brooding as the lyrics, Johnson’s sly mockery of the state of Thatcher’s government only just scratching the surface of his distaste- ‘I’m just a symptom of the moral decay that’s gnawing at the heart of the country’. These careful ruminations can be easily overlooked when paired with such a dense and opulent display of instrumentation, nevertheless a balance is found. Johnson knows how to speak his mind and what to do with his most profound musings, making quite sure no soul is left untainted.
Seventh piece, Giant, is a track with a name to match its musical magnitude. Biting synthesizers and snarky funk- infused rhythms culminate in almost ten minutes of pure elation until the close. Just like the rest of this album, it is filled with existential ponderings, although these are perhaps the most agonising of them all. ‘How could anyone know me when I don’t even know myself’ Johnson wails atop industrially electronic beats which rival New Order. The angst in the lyricism seems off kilter in comparison to such joyful grooving instrumental inflections, yet the piece still maintains its cohesiveness. This song summarises the entire album all in one- it is vibrant and catchy, yet frenzied and hard to digest all the same.
As a starting point for Matt Johnson, this album barely hinted at the experimentalism we later received with Infected or Mind Bomb. The energy that drives this LP sends it flying so far from the pop conventions of the eighties and instead onto a course largely unexplored. Soul Mining knows what it wants, and it manages to maintain a rawness and musical anonymity which makes it so unlike anything else of its time. Put very simply it’s a work of pure genius, yet it is an album that seems to have undeservedly fallen off the radar. In my eyes this is a collection of tracks that should be dug up and waved like a flag for all to enjoy.
Alice Beard
Edited by Alice Beard
Official 'Soul Mining' album cover courtesy of The The, video courtesy of The The via Youtube