Years (By One Thousand Fingertips) was Attack in Black's third and final album. The word "final" is particularly gutting because I had a lot of time for them. I've written about them on here twice before and I hope to again when I one day find a copy of their excellent LP Marriage.
Years, like The Curve of the Earth, is very different to Marriage. There are moments like Liberties and Seeds where you can hear that they are the same band, but on the whole you wouldn't think so; the record is calm, quiet and less angry. The songs are still good, but somehow the word "nice" seems most fitting. If their first EP was them doing hardcore, and Marriage was them doing punk (perfectly), then Years is their album of nice songs.
I picked up this double LP in Canada shortly after it came out. What makes the fact that they broke up even more gutting is that they were touring Canada the same time I was there. The tour never stopped in the same city that I was in at the right time, but there was one night that with a short drive I could have made it to. Of course I didn't know they were going to break up and that would be the last chance I'd ever get to see them. When I saw them the first (and only) time, they were touring Marriage and I saw punk-Attack in Black (which they did incredibly well - I remember standing to the right of the stage in TJ's not expecting much but then almost instantly being blown away by how good they were). I've come to love the "nice" side of the band too and I wish I'd gone to see these songs live - it could have been completely different to how they were in TJ's or exactly the same and I think I would have been glad to see it either way. Five years later I'm certainly upset I never got to find out.
Format: Double 12", gatefold sleeve, insert
Tracks: 16
Cost: £13.20 new
Bought: Criminal Records, Toronto
When: 13/05/09
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
