In 2018 we stated the case for The Only Ones’ second album 1979’s Even Serpents Shine to be regarded as a fully-fledged progressive rock work – at a time when the genre had been all-but dismissed from popular culture.
There was always an otherworldly feel to The Only Ones. To some extent it emanated from vocalist Peter Perrett, a poet who sounded like he was from the same planet as Peter Hammill. That quality was also emphasised by John Perry’s jarringly melodic, psychedelically dank guitar work.
The band will always be known for the influential power pop single Another Girl, Another Planet – and for that reason, their 1978 self-titled debut album gets a lot of attention. But 1979 follow-up Even Serpents Shine is a lot more demanding, experimental and compulsive.
Imagine (if you can) XTC produced by Joe Meek while steeped in a swirl of Van der Graaf Generator’s ideas, and you’re in the right dimension. It’s all so apparent on the downbeat haze of Inbetweens, which sounds like an out-of- body experience in a distended universe.
Perrett’s vocals are chilling, and in many respects he has much in common with Peter Gabriel – both use their voice to disorientate the listener. The same impression comes from Out There In The Night and You’ve Got To Pay; both cleverly play off a smooth tune against a skeletal rhythmic structure.
For this band, it’s always a case of brevity serving its purpose. A track like Curtains For You says more in just over four minutes than others could manage in twice the length. It has the capacity to load numerous ideas and visions in a short musical exercise without ever being cluttered.
Each composition has to be played several times to really appreciate what’s going on. There’s no instantaneous gratification on here – even something as short as Programme, at just over two minutes, can make the listener’s head spin with Perrett’s expression of multiple personalities through jagged harmonies.
The nearest The Only Ones get to a straightforward pop song is Someone Who Cares, which could have easily been a hit had it been released as a single. But even on here, the listener knows they’re being led into a mental maze of hidden atonal trips.
Even Serpents Shine is a remarkably articulate album, recorded at a time when the whole idea of progressive music was anathema. But now it can be seen for what it is: a boldly dramatic artistic statement, deserving recognition alongside some of the more left field heroes of prog.
After all, the album even ends with the four-minute Instrumental, a mostly, em, instrumental piece that could have sat (un)comfortably on Pink Floyd’s The Final Cut. You have been primed.
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