The first proper single, although the difference between a two-track 7" EP and a two track 7" single is a hard one to spot! If I Could is a great HR song, but what's really special about this record for me is the b-side. No. 5 sounds nothing like anything else the band have ever written (to my best knowledge) and I love it. There's something almost Deftones-like in both the muted vocals and the ability to write a song so different to their normal style and make it sound incredible. It's a fuzzy, brutal, basically-emo song and has none of the upbeat, bouncy guitars of the other songs they'd released. I saw them play it live once and I was ecstatic. It was in the Southampton Guildhall (a full year after I'd first bought a record of theirs in the same room) and the first song of the encore was just three of them on stage playing No. 5, possibly with Larry singing. It was really dark and atmospheric and I loved it, although I remember the rest of the crowd being a little bemused.
I didn't buy this single when it first came out (although I can't remember why), but Hugh had the cd. He desperately wanted to swap it for a Pitchshifter single I had, and eventually I relented. He wasn't fussed on the b-sides (there was another called One Moment) but I instantly thought No. 5 was great. About six months later I was at a record fair (again) and found this and Falter and bought them both. I had both of the songs on the cd-single, but wanted to have No. 5 on vinyl. Sat here playing the record nearly ten years later, I'm very glad I bought it.
Format: 7", numbered (#2850)
Tracks: 2
Cost: £3 new
Bought: Record fair, Southampton Guildhall
When: 25/01/03
Colour: Green
Etching: none
mp3s: no
