Attack of the Killer Track! is a series that explores tracks from artists from a variety of genres. Some of the tracks were singles, some of them were obscure b-sides or long forgotten album tracks. One thing is certain – all of them are killer tracks.

The Sound are another one of those bands that should have become a household name alongside the likes of U2, Joy Division, and Echo & the Bunnymen. Formed from the ashes of The Outsiders, The Sound veered towards a somewhat darker trajectory. Adrian Borland’s vocals still bore traces of the punk delivery he’d laid down over the 2 LP’s with The Outsiders, but there was a heaviness that hadn’t been present on those earlier records. At this juncture, the band featured Graham Bailey on bass (also in The Outsiders and Second Layer), Mike Dudley on drums, and Benita Marshall on keyboard. Leaving punk behind for much darker pastures, the band delivered a masterpiece with the 1st full length. It has to be said – there is a sadness lingering whilst listening to many of the songs that Adrian Borland wrote – he would commit suicide in April of 1999. I Can’t Escape Myself is the opening track on 1980’s Jeopardy and is a perfect distillation of everything that made The Sound one of the best groups of all time. Emotive vocals, eerie synths, a propulsive bass line, slightly raw drums – this is a perfect song. The lyrics can only be described as unsettling – “so many feelings / pent-up in here / left alone, I’m with / the one i most fear…./ I, I can’t / escape myself”. Chilling, haunting, beautiful. Not everything Adrian Borland recorded was as bleak, so if you like this song I’d collect everything by The Sound, work back to The Outsiders, add the electronic based side project Second Layer, then move on to his solo records and the White Rose Transmission project. Adrian Borland was truly a musical genius, and the world needs more people like him.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8DE628vQaU]