Tired of your Spotify playlists? The Purbalite is here to help with our Essential Listening series.
The debut album from the English rock band The Sundays, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, questions the essence of humanity and explores the apprehension of venturing into young adulthood.
The Sundays, who are often compared to other alternative rock bands such as The Smiths and Cocteau Twins, formed after the lead singer and the lead guitarist, Harriet Wheeler and David Gavurin, graduated from college. In the album’s opening track, “Skin & Bones,” Wheeler explores the idea that humans are essentially, as the song suggests, skin and bones, and therefore, soulless, for humans are inherently materialistic and vain.
Similarly, the album’s eighth track, “I Kicked A Boy,” explores the morality of humanity and questions the meaning of self-worth. Through the lyrics, Wheeler’s perspective is that humanity is cruel along with being inherently vain.
The album’s most famous track, “Here’s Where The Story Ends,” creates a sense of irony, for Wheeler sings about closing a chapter of her life and beginning a new one. The song highlights how growth can simultaneously be viewed as painful and a blessing.
Through Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, the Sundays highlight the nature of society and the pain of growing up.
