Sorrow

Sorrow

Sleep Now Forever

Night School

***Sleep Now Forever is the second and final album released by Sorrow, the post-Strawberry Switchblade group fronted by singer Rose McDowall. Originally released in 1999 and long since deleted it is a cornucopia of pastoral, elegiac folk music, swirling atmospherics, hymnal compositions and above it all the alternating towering and fragile vocal performances of McDowall. Recorded in the late 90s with fellow band member and co-songwriter Robert Lee, Sleep Now Forever is the definitive statement by the now defunct group and Rose McDowall’s most complete long-form work to date. Released through the group’s own Piski Disk Records, Sleep Now Forever was distributed by World Serpent which struggled through the early 2000s with financial woes, eventually folding due to bankruptcy in 2004. Due to the company’s troubles, Sleep Now Forever was never distributed widely and was a victim of the company’s failure. Released on CD only, original copies are now rare and only traded on second hand channels. Remastered by Mikey Young for a limited vinyl release, on double vinyl format, with one side an exclusive etching by Glasgow artist Holly Allan. Despite its rarity, Sleep Now Forever enjoys a firm cult following. The album’s textures are expansive, lush, deliciously detailed and celestial. Recorded in home study Velvet Hole by Rose McDowall and then-husband Robert Lee, the album enlists an array of players from the underground Neo-folk / industrial scene: Nigel McKernaghan (Uilleann pipes, Whistles), Susan Franknel (Bassoon), John Contreras (Cello) and Lawrence Frankel (Oboe, Cor Anglais). The eleven songs here...

Sorrow

Under The Yew Possessed

Night School

"Sorrow is an English-based band that is the brain child of Rose McDowall, once known as one half of the '80s pop duo, Strawberry Switchblade. Rose's first band was called The Poem, an experimental three piece based in her hometown of Glasgow. While still with The Poems, Rose also joined with Jill Bryson as Strawberry Switchblade. The Poems released one EP entitled Achieving Unity, but they broke up shortly after its release, when Strawberry Switchblade began to gain popularity. Switchblade's top-five hit, "Since Yesterday," is featured on many '80s compilations, and still receives considerable club and radio play. Switchblade disbanded in 1986. Since 1985, Rose has worked with many other bands, including Current 93, Coil, Death In June, Felt, and Psychic TV. Through the years Rose has carried on working in a more experimental vein, and ultimately formed Sorrow, releasing their first LP, Under The Yew Possessed, in 1993. They have since produced: Sleep Now Forever (1999), Final Solstice (1999), and Let There Be Thorns (2001)."