The Blue Nile - 'A Walk Across the Rooftops' Linn Records (LKH 001)

The Blue Nile, 'A Walk Across The Rooftops', 1984.

Released in 1984 to critical acclaim but little commercial fanfare, A Walk Across The Rooftops would, over the years to come, find a unique cult status that would immortalise The Blue Nile as a staple in the indie canon. Polished synth arpeggios and swooping string arrangements are draped in cavernous reverb to create a spacious, evocative backdrop for frontman Paul Buchanan’s triumphant, melancholic vocals, which are delivered with typically charismatic Glaswegian conviction across this remarkably well-honed debut LP.

Famously perfectionist, the trio would release just four albums across their twenty year career, all of which would pair the strength of their stripped-back compositions with cutting edge hi-fi recording techniques. This considered approach to music-making can be felt in every corner of A Walk Across The Rooftops, an album which captures the forward-facing spirit of early electronic innovation but remains grounded in a tender humanity often lost amongst the futurism of their synth-pop contemporaries.

NOTES:

Graded using the Goldmine Standard. Graded conservatively, cover and media both upper VG+. 


CONDITION:

Cover: VG+
Media: VG+