 "I'll
Melt With You" will forever be the one specific moment that's Modern
English's place in pop history, but the album it came from, After the
Snow, isn't anything to sneeze at. Indeed, in transforming from the quite fine
but dour young miserabilists on Mesh & Lace to a brighter incarnation that
still had a melancholy side, the quintet found exactly the right combination
best suited for their abilities. Like contemporaries B-Movie and the Sound,
Modern English used punk and post-punk roots as a chance to introduce a
haunting, beautiful take on romance and emotion, while the contributions of
Stephen Walker on keyboard helped make the album both of its time and timeless.
That said, the secret weapon on the album is the rhythm section of Michael
Conroy and Richard Brown, able to shift from the polite but relentless tribal
beat clatter on the excellent "Life in the Gladhouse" to the ever more
intense punch of the title track, the album's unheralded masterpiece. None of
this is to denigrate the contributions of singer Robbie Grey and guitarist Gary
McDowell. — Ned |
 The
summery hooks and warm lyrics of Modern English's biggest hit, "I
Melt With You,"...
...gave listeners the impression that the band was an
upbeat pop act in the early '80s. "I Melt With You" was
actually an anomaly in Modern English's early discography. Formed in
Colchester, England, in 1979, Modern English was originally a punk group
called the Lepers. Featuring Robbie Grey (vocals, guitar), Gary McDowell
(guitar), and Richard Brown (drums), the Lepers mainly performed at
parties. After Mick Conroy (bass) and Stephen Walker (keyboards) joined
the band, they changed their name to Modern English and were signed to
4AD Records. Inspired by the stylish gloom of Bauhaus and Joy Division,
Modern English released the singles "Swans on Glass" and
"Gathering Dust" before recording their 1981 debut LP Mesh
& Lace. Boiling with raw anger, dissonant rhythms, and weird
noises, Mesh & Lace confused some U.K. critics while
mesmerizing others. A year later, the group streamlined their sound,
dropping much of Mesh & Lace's gothic experimentation on After
the Snow. "I Melt With You" was included on the Valley
Girl soundtrack, and its video became an MTV staple. Although
"I Melt With You" didn't reach the Top 40 charts in America, After
the Snow sold more than 500,000 copies. However, the band's next
album, 1984's Ricochet Days, was a flop. Pressured by their U.S.
label Sire Records to release another hit and exhausted from touring,
Modern English began falling apart; Walker and Brown were fired from the
group. Grey continued recording with different Modern English lineups.
In the early '90s, "I Melt With You" was played in a
successful Burger King ad. Modern English started recording another
album with After the Snow producer Hugh Jones in 2001. — Michael
Sutton
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