When I was at Art College in 1989 as an 18 year old rocker, I started jamming guitar with a guy called Hugh. He came from London and had been in gigging bands, therefore he was cool. He was also into more alternative/goth stuff and got me into The Mission, The Sisters of Mercy and even Christian Death at the time. Back in the day, of course, finding new interesting bands to listen to was a lot harder than it is now. You had only a few options, recommendations from Kerrang!, your mates, or taking a chance with something with a cool cover (something that remarkably does sometimes work a treat). Of course back then without the internet there was no overload of music and you listened to each album fully over and over, really appreciating it because you may not hear a new album for possibly weeks or months even.
At end of term Hugh would return home to London and when he came back he would give me a tape or sometimes two C90s with new music, usually from the collection of his brother who had similar taste to me. This way I first heard The Dogs D'amour's 'Unauthorised Bootleg' album (which I had tried to get to no avail through my local indepedent record shop), various Hanoi Rocks albums, and even my first introduction to The Stooges with 'Search & Destroy' tagged on the end of a Hanoi album.
I'm sure we have all done this in the past: back before bands felt the need to fill CDs full to the brim with 70 minute albums or bonus tracks or hidden tracks, they used to make albums with ten or eleven tracks in under 40 minutes. We all know an album would usually fit on one side of a C90 and give you room for one or sometimes two tracks if you were lucky, and so you would fill up the rest of the side of the tape with some other cool band you had to share. This was how I first heard Mary My Hope, two tracks on the end of a Hanoi album; the tracks were 'Wildman Childman' and 'Grind', two songs that pre-dated the grunge sound by a few short years.
This was the most exciting source for new music for me at the time, stuff I couldn't get anywhere else and bands I had never heard. It wasn't long before Hugh got a copy of the album done for me. I can see the tape cover now in my mind, on the TDK C90, hand written very carefully in spirally, gothic writing by Hugh (he was an artist and took great pleasure in presentation with tapes), 'Mary My Hope - Museum'. I vaguely remembered an interview in Kerrang! and thought they looked shit! I remember seeing a picture where one member had a polo neck jumper on! The image of your favourite rock stars of course being all important to a teenager in 1989 I didn't think much of them. But, of course, I gave it a go cos it was a recommendation from Hugh's brother, and this fella I had never met knew his shit!
Opening track was 'Wildman Childman', the opening crunchy dampened riff and instant chorus just seemed to hit the spot, it felt different from the usual stuff I was into and in that way was fresh. The vocals of singer James Hall had a certain goth-tinged Iggyness about them that intrigued me, the way he sang and shouted throughout was distinctive, and it spoke volumes to me.
There are two very beautiful and important songs that mean a lot to me on this album; they have appeared on various mix tapes over the years and I still love them as much as the day I heard them. The first 'Suicide Kings', with its beautiful spiralling guitar intro, the eerie echo vocals and chorus effect laden picked guitar chords that lead into the chorus are sublime to my ears, still after more than 20 years. The underlying regimental drum pattern is background to the sweet guitars and vocals that drive this song, distortion fills the chorus in stark contrast to the more chilled verse, almost trippy in places and quite psychedelic.
The second, my favourite song on the album is 'I'm Not Singing', the grungy riff intro soon gives way to beautiful acoustic chords and melodic, poetic vocals sweet enough to sooth the soul and make a grown man weep. The haunting background vocals add texture and feel making it an emotional ride.
It's an album that has a lot to offer, the early goth sound of The Cult, the early work of REM combined with the deep songwriting suss of Pink Floyd may sound an odd combination to some, but it's one that worked for me. There are beautiful and sparse chord progressions, such as 'Communion', that create an eerie feel. The production still sounds great and warm, it does not suffer from that tinny, Eighties drum sound that so many rock bands fell pray to back then.
Unfortunately, it was the band's only album: James Hall quit after tours with Jane's Addiction and Love & Rockets, and the band folded. Hall went on to have a solo career and has recently worked with Jimmy Gnecco. Bassist Sven Pipien went on to replace Johnny Colt in The Black Crowes. They left a legacy of one EP and an album that has stayed in my top album lists for over 20 years, and one I would highly recommend to any Uber Rocker.
Around '94 I found the album on cassette in HMV in Cardiff for 99p! So the original cassette got taped over and that replaced it. Every now and then it pops up on Amazon on CD but its always expensive - one day I will buy that CD. I do have it in MP3 format but it ain't quite the same is it, music lovers?
Retrö Röck 
teenager in 1989 I didn't think much of them. But, of course, I gave it a go cos it was a recommendation from Hugh's brother, and this fella I had never met knew his shit!