Modern Eon - Fiction Tales (Expanded Edition) 

Originally forming in Liverpool in 1978 as Luglo Slugs and releasing two tracks on Street To Street - A Liverpool Compilation, Modern Eon changed their name and self-released the four-track EP Pieces.  Over the next four years they released one album and a handful of singles before calling it a day while working on demos for their second album.  This new expanded edition of their sole album has been remastered and marks the first time it’s ever been available on CD and also includes a second disc containing single versions, B-sides and some previously unreleased tracks that were recorded in 1982 prior to their breakup.

Fiction Tales was quite an impressive and sadly underappreciated debut.  It’s largely a very dark record with a lot of experimentation and was a bit before it’s time.  The band was greatly influenced by composer Ennio Morricone and even approached him about producing the album, but he advised them that he didn’t work with rock bands.  That influence is very apparent on several tracks like “Second Still”, a taut cut that sounds like Morricone meshed with Joy Division, and “Waiting For The Cavalry”, a sweeping, cinematic song that has a darker edge to it and is a definite album standout.  That cinematic feel also comes out on “The Grass Still Grows”, which starts with tribal drumming and has some nice keyboard washes and some sax towards the end that gives it a mystical vibe that’s not so unlike Siouxsie and the Banshees.  Other tracks like “Playwrite”, “Watching The Dancers” and “Real Hymn” are very interesting cuts with odd rhythms that are at times a bit jerky, with throbbing bass and layers of synths and other noises (including sax and Chinese Horn on “Real Hymn”) that definitely take a few listens to really sink in. Then there is “In A Strange Way”, a slow, sparse and haunting soundscape comprised of vocals, piano, sustained bass and found sounds.  While a lot of the album is experimental there are a handful of tracks that could be considered more accessible and almost radio friendly.  “Child’s Play”, which was released as a single, and “Choreography” are both very catchy tracks with a dreamy, almost ethereal, early shoegazer sound, “Mechanic” is very reminiscent of U2 with a little Joy Division and “Euthenics” is completely different than anything else on the album, sounding a lot like Death Cult / Dreamtime-era The Cult.  

Kicking off the bonus tracks on disc two are early versions of four songs that would later appear on the album, the 1979 versions of “Second Still” and “Choreography” from the Pieces EP (unfortunately the other two cuts aren’t included) and the 1980 single versions of “Euthenics” and “Waiting For The Cavalry.”  While they are all structurally close to the album versions, the production is rawer and less polished, which actually gives some of them a warmer sound, and in the case of “Euthenics” there is a sax throughout this version that isn’t on the album.  Next up are a couple of B-sides, both of which are good enough to have been album tracks.  “Cardinal Signs” is a hooky tune that’s very percussion driven with a plentiful sax, while “Visionary is a tempo shifting, twisting turning track that’s a little more on the adventurous side.  The single version of “Mechanic” is up next and sounds like it's been rerecorded with some changes to the guitar and synths, while it’s flipside “Splash!” is an interesting track with a very similar feel to the a-side (almost like it has been reimagined), but with a spoken word vocal and some dub bass.  The final four tracks are all previously unreleased starting with the demo of “After The Party”, which was recorded for a possible second album, and is another darker track with some swirling synths and U2 flavored guitars.  Two dub versions of "After The Party" are up next, including a 2021 mix from frontman/guitarist Alex Che Johnson, that are nice additions.  The demo of “Garland Leaves” closes the disc out and does a great job of taking some of the more experimental elements of their debut, while also maintaining the hook-heavy catchiness.  Rounding things out is a very informative booklet with a lot of detailed info on the band and lots of pictures.  It is unfortunate that a few tracks were left out, but other than that this is an outstanding release that hopefully will introduce this underappreciated band to a whole new audience.  

(Cherry Red Records)