Barria Alta

The Sound

Just a few days ago some internet friends of mine across the ocean managed to get two more albums by The Sound re-released on global music platforms. God bless them because they are also selling new vinyl. I am so proud of them because their only motive has been to preserve and promote Adrian Borland’s legacy as a songwriter and to tell his human story. So Adrian’s been on my mind again lately, which has me emotional. I never knew him, but I feel like I did as I met many of his inner circle and heard their stories shortly after he passed away in 1999. THUNDER UP was the first Sound album I owned and I have cherished it on vinyl since it came out in 1987. The album is timeless and holds up so well — definitely a top ten record for me. (top 5?) And, it’s difficult to pick a favorite track, but Barria Alta might be it. It’s a song about rising up from a really dark place — where heat and heavy stones weigh you down. You can feel the heat and despair and the gradual move to hope in the music and lyrics. This is exactly what great art does and what great music can do.

Stone under your feet
And I know that will never change
Stone under your shirt sometimes
And how it beats is all that’s strange
And if we never rise above their lies
We’re gonna only have ourselves to blame
We won’t drop, we won’t stop till we’re up in the right place
We won’t drop, we won’t stop till we’re up in the high place