L-R: Paul Brindley (bass), Harriet Wheeler (vocals), Patrick Hannan (drums) and David Gavurin (guitar)
The Sundays were an English Indie Pop band that gained prominence throughout the 1990s with the album Reading, Writing & Arithmetic. Their next two albums, Blind and Static & Silence, didn't nearly match the acclaim and success of their debut, but nonetheless are highly regarded in their own rights. The band is known for lead singer Harriet Wheeler's ethereal vocals and the band's mesh of Jangle Pop with Dream Pop.
"Here's where the tropes end":
- Album Title Drop: Blind appears in "24 Hours"; Static and Silence is a phrase from "Monochrome".
- Bait-and-Switch: There's one in each of the three verses of "Hideous Towns": "I joined the army / The Salvation Army", "I went into service / With the Civil Service" and "I went to the circus / Piccadilly Circus".
- Cover Version: Their take on "Wild Horses" was the B-Side of "Summertime" in the UK and was added as the closing track on the US version of Blind, and in some circles is better-known than the Stones' version.
- New Sound Album: Blind amps up the ethereal atmosphere featured on Reading, Writing & Arithmetic, while Static & Silence has a more mainstream sound to it.
- Nobody Poops: An aversion, a propos nothing: "You're Not the Only One I Know" has the line "You'll find me in the lavatory".
- Pun: The album Reading, Writing and Arithmetic is a reference to the band's hometown, Reading.
- Shout-Out: "And it stoned me to my soul" in the song "Folk Song" is a shout out to Van Morrison.
- Speedy Techno Remake: Inverted. The hit "dance" cover version of "Here's Where The Story Ends" by Tin Tin Out is actually the same tempo as the Sundays original.
- Vocal Dissonance: Based solely on her high-pitched, airy voice, it's natural to assume Harriet Wheeler is a dainty, frilly blonde. Instead she's dark-haired and more on the Emo side of things.
