Gift: The 4AD Years (LP)

A package containing both studio albums (Fetisch & Tocsin) and EPs (Qual & Incubus Succubus II) that came out via 4AD from 1983-1984. Accompanied by a 24 page photo booklet with images from Kevin Cummins, Sheila Rock, Paul Slattery + more. This edition has been remastered at Abbey Road and the artwork has been designed by Timothy O'Donnell based on the originals by v23.

The extraordinary impact Xmal Deutschland had upon British audiences in the early Eighties is difficult to convey forty years on. A spell was cast by the staccato rhythms, unmediated channels and mysterious (to us) language of their music, and by the vision and strength of the women involved. Their breakthrough support slot with Cocteau Twins and first two albums with 4AD dazzled and dug deep, speaking in tones and temperatures unlike any band before or since. "And at some point, it seemed to people we just...disappeared", muses singer Anja Huwe. "So this myth of Xmal Deutschland just got bigger and bigger over the years…"

Gift, which will fascinate newcomers just as it feeds the faithful, is brimming with presence. And if the word "gift" in German slyly relates to a kind of poison, nobody said this music was all sweetness and light. Even if its radiance resonates, four decades later. Xmal Deutschland's 4AD years were a bold and bewitching boomerang. The magic's back.