Liverpool Experimental Band, The Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus are celebrating their Ruby Anniversary year with a crop of releases – next up is Devotion To A Noble Ideal, a collection of rich, ethereal sounds,
Release Date: 25th April 2025
Label: 9×9 Records
Format: Vinyl / Digital
HAPPY 40TH ANNIVERSARY!
Cult Liverpool ‘experimental’ band, The Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus (aka: Paul Boyce, Eliza Carew, Leslie Hampson and Jessie Main) celebrate their 40th anniversary in 2025. To mark the occasion, they’re releasing a whole crop of new and reissued material. A new single, Object Of Desire, arrived in February and the band will be reissuing their 2013 album, Rumours Of Angels, in May.
But, for the moment, our attention is focused upon Devotion To A Noble Idea. A collection of four songs, two of them remixes from the 2024 album, The Dream We Carry, a remix of Avatars – a song from 2020’s Songs Of Yearning LP – and a new song, After The Silence.
THE CONTINUATION OF A JOURNEY
RAIJ’s sound encapsulates disparate influences that include folk, ‘sacred’ music, industrial and ambient. Comparisons have been drawn to the likes of Current 93, Death In June, Dead Can Dance and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Commenting on this latest EP, The band say: “This work is the continuation of a journey. From a point of knowing to not knowing. It is the seeking of new meaning through creative collaborations that deconstruct and rebuild our work. It travels with the familiar over unfamiliar ground – with a sense of direction but an unknown destination – creating fresh perspectives through new points of departure, deviations and encounters. An exploration of beauty and truth driven by a devotion to that which is truly beautiful, and also beautifully true. It is a search for enlightenment through new forms of expression and new forms of thought, and for a deeper sense of connection that will bring us back to the starting point – renewed.”
LAYERS OF SOUND
Crystal clear vocals and acoustic guitars introduce opening track, Equinox. A fantastic passage of chamber pop. The cellos of The Orchestra of the Northern Territories underpin the ethereal vocals and the harmonies are heavenly. After The Silence, the EP’s sole ‘new’ song features singer/songwriter and musical visionary Dorothy Bird. It’s a wonderful, dreamy, contemplative piece of music. Keyboard pulses circulate the room, the bass sound is rich, wah-wah guitars flutter discretely. Strings, woodwind and a soft drumbeat fill the gaps. The voice, delivering lyrics that alternate between English and German, is gentle and soothing.
The Orchestra of the Northern Territories are back for the slow-building Avatar. Pensive piano notes, cellos, clarinets and violins all join gradually as a rumbling percussion sound builds the tension. A Celtic air is sung as softly as is possible as the percussion – a mini orchestra of bodhrans, perhaps – continues its rise until, at the climax, it dominates.
A COMFORTABLE CONTRAST
For closing track, Voices, RAIJ are joined by Liverpool prog/alt rock band, Blood Of Achilles. That band’s contribution is simultaneously at odds and in perfect accord with the softer sounds that dominate the rest of the EP. Simmering electronics, crashing drums and soaring electric guitars contrast comfortably with the softly picked acoustic guitars. The effect is anthemic.
The Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus have a lot to celebrate in 2025. Devotion To A Noble Ideal is an excellent way to showcase their talents.
Watch the official video to Paradise, a song from the 2020 RAIJ album, Songs Of Yearning, below:
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