The Railway Children were just one of a string of successful independent bands poached and groomed for obscurity by the majors in the second half of the ’80s. Anyone jonesing for, ironically, something close to the Postcard sound?sparkling guitars, a melancholy, yearning tenor?will swoon for this quietly gorgeous album of acoustic revamps. Three tracks from their sole album for Factory (Reunion Wilderness, 1987) are obvious highlights, especially the irresistible lilt of “Brighter”. You’d think, given the Coldplay/Keane hegemony, there’d be an audience for this superior version: gentle, epic music but, here, with a soul.
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