SOUND, THE Counting The Days Vinyl RSD Release LP (1986)

Adrian Borland was one of the most criminally overlooked figures in post-punk, and The Sound were one of those bands that the people who knew, knew. Counting The Days collects the sharp edges and bruised grandeur of a group that deserved far more than cult status, pressed here on clear vinyl for Record Store Day.

This is the kind of record that lives in the same grey, rain-soaked headspace as early Chameleons and Magazine, angular guitars carrying melodies that feel both urgent and quietly devastating. Borland's voice had a weight that most of his contemporaries couldn't touch, and this compilation makes a solid case for why the post-punk revival spent so much energy catching up to what The Sound had already done. If you've been working backwards through the genre's English underground, this is an essential stop.

Format: Compilation, Clear Vinyl 2LP, RSD Release. Origin: UK, 1986.

Fans of: The Chameleons, Section 25, Magazine, The Names, Adrian Borland.