The Triffids - Beautiful Waste And Other Songs [Remastered] (2008)

Beautiful Waste and other songs is a collection of some of those songs that did not appear on a full length album but are important and well loved songs in The Triffids catalogue.

Dave always had more songs than he could possibly use and most of them were very good as witnessed by the B-sides that graced official singles and the side projects that were undertaken at all stages of The Triffids’ career. The years ’83 to ’85 were particularly fruitful. Beautiful Waste brings together a collection of songs that never made it onto an official album release but are important songs in the overall catalogue. It begins with the astonishing Raining Pleasure EP/mini album. I smile whenever I hear it – the production is brim full of ideas, sound effects, sirens, backwards tape, smoky jazz piano. It’s a year or so after Treeless Plain and the bar has been raised. Jill Birt, keyboardist until then, was talked into singing the song Raining Pleasure and it was a stroke of genius. Her innocent tones singing this song of desperate carnality make for a piece of music that was far beyond the capabilities of most of the more successful Australian acts at the time. And quite a few of them are generous enough to admit it.