Ruefrex - Flowers For All Occasions

Northern Ireland was a plethora of great music in the late 70s, and even into the 80s. Mostly responsible for this was Teri Hooley's Good Vibrations label, who including the Undertones, released many other great, and overlooked Irish bands. In 1979, Ruefrex released their first single 'Across the Line'. Your typical, murky, snotty sounding punk affair, but it would not be until 1985 that they released their first full length, which was miles away from the sound of their first release.

Kicking off with the fiery, conviction filled anthem 'The Wild Colonial Boy'. The lyrics set the scene for the rest of what is a quite politically charged album. A band far too real, and seemingly unflinching in compromise, Ruefrex really get their message across. Something lost in most music of the last 15 to 20 years, it is clear this band was fighting for something, and by the sound of it they were winning. It's unfortunate to say that it's not a surprise how they did not gain as much notoriety as fellow Irish rockers, no scratch that, make that pompous, self righteous, unoriginal douche-rockers U2. Though 'I Will Follow' is maybe not such a bad song, though as Ian McCulloch was once quoted as saying 'I would have wrote 'I Will Lead.' " Moving on... The wild adrenaline rush continues on tracks like 'The Ruah'. Football chant-like backing vocals, and the shimmering, crystal-toned guitar lines mix extremely well with the sounds of furiously rhythmic acoustic strumming, the sound of which proudly recalls it's Celtic roots. Hard hitting, thunderous drums descend, only to gain momentum for the song's high soaring chorus, 'And so the Ruah comes/In a way that no-one thought/Casting pearls before the swine/giving gifts that can`t be bought.'

Ending the album with the difficult title track 'Flowers For All Occasions', it is one of the albums more somber moments. A haunting ballad of a young mother to be, tragically turned widow due to the sectarian violence of the time. "There were flowers for all occasions/Floral tributes to the dead/Orange lilies, shamrock green/Bloody scarlet, poppy red."

Ruefrex released one more mini-album on Flicknife records, which was responsible for the release of some of the better bands of the early 80s UK punk scene such as Major Accident, Erazerhead, and Instant Agony. I would really recommend tracking this one down as well, the track 'Playing Card With Dead Men' is possibly the highlight of this bands career, and can be found on a Flicknife compilation disc that should be pretty easy to find. This is truly one of the great 'lost' bands of the decade. Be sure to check em' out! - Joe Western