His Name is Alive

From Livonia, Michigan, His Name Is Alive is known primarily as the creative outlet of Warren Defever who in the early-90s, along with vocalist Karin Oliver, became an integral part of 4AD's storied history after label founder Ivo Watts-Russell fell deeply for their dark and fragmented sound; their self-released cassettes mysteriously landing in the post, consistently improving until he could ignore no more. Having recently reissued those early tracks as part of the lauded A Silver Thread trilogy, the light now turns to their first three albums proper.

Signing to 4AD in 1989, as Throwing Muses, Pixies, and The Breeders were beating a new transatlantic path for the label, they proved perfectly paired. While their sound was more in line with the gothic echoes of Cocteau Twins and Dead Can Dance than the visceral college rock of the aforementioned, His Name Is Alive also had a different, nonpareil quality, something existing on the boundary of this earth and another realm further underground. It was this otherness that piqued interest and proved the fulcrum of an unpredictable sound that often-changed tack before listeners could second guess.

Their debut album Livonia, in all its broken jigsaw-piece glory, appeared in the summer of 1990. Produced by Ivo and his This Mortal Coil collaborator John Fryer, working from recordings Warren had sent their way (he later commented that they "took it apart, and didn't put it back together"), on the surface, their signing made sense among the label's well-established ethereal lineage. It was only after listeners started to peel away its layers that they discovered not only had the 4AD sound been reinvented and refracted through a prism, the album was an extraordinary depiction of a disturbing and often exquisite vista. A study in shadows, the album examined the dual themes of love and loss, being woozily delivered as if dreamlike. When reissued a few years later in the US, the album's title track was added — a non-linear study in guitar distortion — which completed the record and is a track that now stands out as one of the band's finest moments.

1991 saw their second album, Home Is In Your Head, arrive. Again, recorded in Defever's home studio then remixed by Ivo and John, its 23 songs quick-fire emotions, with moments of calm soon clashing with white noise and chaos. The listener is left enthralled by both its beauty and darkness, Warren's inspired productions proving utterly unique. There is nothing else quite like this. Now in full flow, they followed the album in 1992 with The Dirt Eaters, an EP that leant on folk over avant-pop, even getting away with uncleared samples from Hollywood films like "I'd eat all the dirt in this yard for you. And all the weeds. And all the dog bones too, if you asked me."

1993's Mouth By Mouth saw a marked shift, both sonically and stylistically. In addition to featuring more contributors, it was the first His Name Is Alive album where the band controlled all processes including its production, mixing and editing. Growing with each release, order of play saw sparsity and intrigue being replaced by an extraordinary adventuring approach to sound and vision that left Warren free to indulge his love for all kinds of music, be it 1960s pop, dub, jazz or noise. Embracing the surreal, His Name Is Alive were out in their own lane and with Warren's studio skills truly blossoming, many see this as a high point for the band.

Three decades on and His Name Is Alive's mark on the scene is indelible, excitingly with a whole new audience now discovering them.