With the advent of post-punk revivalism running rampant on the indie scene in 2005, it only made good sense for labels like Cherry Red to dig deep in the trenches and start reissuing collections from some of the originators of the sound. This long overdue collection of
Artery's works isn't a greatest-hits anthology (though all of them are here), but a smattering of well-known hits, outtakes, and alternate mixes from the glory years of 1981-1983. "Into the Garden" (which immediately had them pegged in the press as Sheffield's answer to
Joy Division) kicks things off nicely, and is probably the track most people (especially
Peel fanatics) will remember the group for, but there's a plethora of other pop gems here that also do the job nicely. With extensive liner notes by AMG contributor Alex Ogg, this is a perfect starting point to explore the riches of a band whose time for proper recognition is long overdue. ~ Rob Theakston