There’s not a lot of good video footage from Sad Lovers and Giants out there, either live or promo video, so a complete live show – even if it’s not the original lineup responsible for their best records – is a treat. The audio of the show was originally released in 1999 as La Dolce Vita: Live in Lausanne and documents a live show by the second incarnation of the band touring their third album The Mirror Test in Switzerland. The video of the show wasn’t isn’t an official release – it seems to have been fan-shot with a single camera – but it sounds pretty damn good and is a nice accompaniment to the record, if you can find a copy.

Sad Lovers and Giants are one of those bands who are tagged as perpetually under-appreciated in the post-punk discussion, and it’s true – even in my own listening habits. I blame a lot of it on the impenetrability of their discography, as even their ‘classic’ records like Epic Garden Music and Feeding The Flame exist in so many different versions with widely varying track listings, some of which contain their best or best-known songs and some don’t, and amongst those songs there’s several versions and edits.

This is because a lot of those tracks were released as singles and were not part of the original ‘canonical’ releases, but anyone getting into the band would surely want them. The versions on streaming services are probably the “best” versions for newcomers, and those who are seeking out the physical copies – which have had a few reissues in recent years – should be aware that those records may not sound like what they’re expecting. I’m talking to myself, of course.