The Triffids have usually been cursed with the tag of “great lost band,” though in the past few years Domino has done its best to change that by releasing all the group’s work in deluxe packages. These reissues did a great job of reminding fans of
the Triffids just how wonderful their dramatic, cinematic body of work was, as well as giving people who weren’t around in the band’s mid-'80s heyday a chance to really dig in and discover them. This collection of the group's best work the label has put together works even better as an introduction. Taking songs from all their albums and some stray singles and EP tracks,
Wide Open Road paints a picture of a band that was equally adept at constructing huge, emotionally charged songs not a million miles away from what bands like
U2 and
Simple Minds were doing (“Wide Open Road,” “Bury Me Deep in Love”) and tiny songs seemingly built for late-night bedroom listening (“Raining Pleasure,” “A Trick of the Light”). Driven by leader
David McComb's desperately romantic vision and his deep and resonate vocals, the band created epic music that, once you hear it, will stick with you for a lifetime. Pick this up if you want to discover a brilliant “lost” band, then get lost in the reissues that preceded it. ~ Tim Sendra