Well what to say this is the most interesting development for Talk Talk featuring one of the most unique singing voices in pop from Mark Hollis and an album that defies categorisation!

On this day in music history: September 16, 1991 - “Laughing Stock”, the fifth album by Talk Talk is released. Produced by Tim Friese-Greene, it is recorded at Wessex Studios in London from September 1990 - April 1991. The bands first new album since departing their longtime label EMI Records (releasing it in the UK on Verve Records and in the US by Polydor Records, both distributed by Polygram Group Distribution), the band is also reduced to a duo at this point (consisting of lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Hollis and drummer Lee Harris), with bassist Paul Webb having left prior to the recording sessions. In the studio, Hollis and Harris are musically supported by hired musicians and longtime producer Tim Friese-Greene. The album sees them going in an even more experimental direction than before, veering away from their trademark synth-pop/art-rock sound. The band often improvise during the recording sessions, with a number of the tracks having a jazz influenced sound. In many ways the album defies easy categorization, leaving Polygram at a loss as to how to market it properly, especially in the US. As a result of its poor sales, Talk Talk split up months after its release in 1992, though in time it is regarded as one of their finest works. “Laughing Stock” peaks at number twenty six on the UK album chart and does not chart on the Billboard Top 200.

thanks to Jeff Harris' weblog . . .