Fathom (1990)

Resisting the temptation to spend the bands' funds on a state of the art "Xenophobe" arcade shoot-em-up game from the local fairground, the Stanleys made their first foray into the new-fangled technology called gramophone records. Possibly the strangest of all the Stanley recordings, this one. A bizarre hollow echo throughout the entire recording; remixed interludes played backwards; the mandolin drone of "Get Real"; the schizophrenic stops and starts of "Scaffolding";the unrequited orchestral melodrama of "Just Tell her that I Called";and a funny little guy called Rufus who came to play a total of 7 notes on a cello and stayed with the band for good."hi-Rise" got Radio 1 airplay too, which is probably the wierdest thing of all.

Track Listing: Hostage | Blank Page | Scaffolding | Last Bus Home | Get Real | Hi-Rise | Lonesome Valley | Big Blue Sea | It's Only Water | Just Tell Her that I Called