The Leaf Label
THE SICK MAN OF EUROPE - THE INTERMITTENT SIGNAL THE SICK MAN OF EUROPE
“Man has such a predilection for systems and abstract deductions that he is ready to distort the truth intentionally, he is ready to deny the evidence of his senses only to justify his logic”
Fyodor Dostoevsky - Notes from Underground (1864)
The Intermittent Signal is the sound of resistance.
The Intermittent Signal is the second album by The Sick Man Of Europe.
It follows last year’s eponymous debut album, the Moderate Air Quality EP and Fade/Form (The Bunker Tapes) live release
Available on black vinyl LP and as a limited edition ‘Chromophobia’ white vinyl LP (Non-Returnable) for independent shops and Bandcamp, pressed by The Vinyl Factory (there is also a super limited Dinked Edition LP)
Lead single ‘Negative Stimuli’ is accompanied by a suitably dystopian self-produced video.
For those with an ear to the ground there are irregular updates on the airwaves – a nod to the spirit of Radio Alice, a counter-culture free radio station transmitting from Bologna in the late 70s
The debut album received AOTY accolades from The Vinyl Whistle (#3), Electronic Sound (#6), Juno Daily (#8), Jumbo (#30) and top 100 placings from Drift and Norman.
TSMOE has built a reputation for uncompromising live shows including blistering sets at The Great Escape and Left Of The Dial which blur the lines between audience and performer.
There will be performances at Haldern Pop Festival and Extramuralhas Festival this summer with more shows to follow.
In the year since The Sick Man Of Europe’s debut album was released, the world has moved on. Steady hands have slipped from the levers of power, logic has shifted underground and the message grows more urgent with every passing day.
Repetition has been relearned and the machine rhythms repurposed, this time with increased intensity. Arrangements have moved beyond the bare bones economy of the first record and there’s a newfound melodicism in places. Clarity and conviction ring true through the static and noise, while utopian ideas to remodel a broken system gain traction. This is a rejection of the attention economy and a call to reconnect through community and organisation. Those simple acts that were once commonplace have become increasingly radical as new fractures emerge.
“Through repetition the message has gained weight and become something more urgent,” The Sick Man Of Europe explains. “The vehicle for this message needed to evolve, grow to gain the strength to carry it. We’ve landed on something more expansive, immediate and immersive. Less is more. Until it isn't.”
“Blends pulsating motorik beats, nagging basslines and droning electronics into all-consuming atmospheres. Fronted by foreboding vocals that sit somewhere between Ian Curtis’ melancholic baritone and something more experimental, phrases are repeated over and over like mantras, slowly building in intensity until the words take on entirely new meanings” -Electronic Sound
“The Sick Man Of Europe blend Krautrock aspects with charred remains of post-punk, tying this together by tapping into the UK’s current dystopian darkness” - Clash
“If you dig danceable post-punk, give this a spin” - Brooklyn Vegan
“Coldwave for hot days” - Bandcamp
“We have one of the great new British live bands on our hands” - Juno Daily
Track List
A1 - Negative Stimuli (5:52)
A2 - Chromophobia (3:37)
A3 - Apathy (4:41)
A4 - The Cadogan Gate (6:43)
B1 - The Intermittent Signal (3:36)
B2 - Eyeless/Mindless (3.59)
B3 - Creatures Of Habit (5:09)
B4 - A Love Song (7:05)
Pickup available at Cambridge
Usually ready in 24 hours. Unless it's a Pre-Order
Product information
Shipping
We aim to keep postage costs as low as possible while making sure your records arrive safely. All orders are packed securely using Defenda MusicMax stiff cardboard mailers, with plenty of “FRAGILE” tape, to provide the best protection in transit.
Shipping costs are calculated automatically at checkout based on the weight and destination of your order, along with packaging materials.
We send most orders via Royal Mail tracked services. For larger or heavier orders, we may use a courier service or split your order into multiple parcels to ensure it arrives safely and efficiently.
Pre-orders
Any items ordered alongside a pre-order item will be held back and posted alongside your pre-order. If you’d like them sent individually, please make separate orders.
On the subject of pre-orders, please note than release dates can change (sometimes not until the scheduled release date). Please keep an eye on our website
Returns
Returns Procedure
If you wish to cancel or return an order, you need to notify us by email (quoting your order number), and wait for us to get back to you before returning goods.
We will email you with instructions and a returns reference number. When returning items to us, you will need to take reasonable care to ensure they are not damaged in transit and that they are labelled clearly with the correct address & reference number (as provided by us) :
Relevant Record Café,
260 Mill Road
Cambridge,
CB1 3NF.
We reserve the right to not process returns sent to us without prior permission.
It’s your responsibility to retain possession and to take reasonable care of the goods in the period prior to return and until you send them back to us.
Your Right To Cancel An Order
Your right to cancel your order starts from the moment you place the order, and ends 14 days from the time you receive your order.
Non-Faulty Products
If you wish to return a product because it’s unwanted or it was ordered in error, please follow the returns procedure (see above).
We’ll happily accept a return as long as the product is still in its original shrink-wrapped packaging and is completely undamaged. You have 14 days from when you receive your order to notify us that you wish to return your order.
By opening a sealed product in any way (or using any digital download code accompanying your order), you waive your right to cancel or return your order.
Obviously we’d rather offer you store credit (in the form of a gift card), but if you’d prefer a refund, we promise to get this sorted within 14 days of receiving your return.
Please take care when ordering!
Faulty Products
If you believe you have purchased a faulty or damaged record, please follow the returns procedure (see above).
Once we receive your record, it will be tested by a member of staff in store.
If your record is deemed as faulty, you will be entitled to a refund, swap or store credit (to the same value as your initial purchase).
If this record is not deemed as faulty, we will not cover any additional postage and packaging costs incurred by either you or us, and we will not be able to offer you a refund, store credit or swap.
Basically, please be absolutely certain the record you have purchased is faulty before following the returns procedure. If possible, we suggest testing the record on different turntables and weighting the tone arm differently.
Steepletone and Crosley Record Players
After having several “faulty” records returned to us (that in actuality had nothing wrong with them), we cannot guarantee that any records we sell will play correctly Crosley or Steepletone branded record players.