Stars in Battledress History
Unsuited to the environment of touring rock bands or indeed most rock venues, Stars In Battledress concentrated on playing small or acoustic-orientated venues where their drum-less lineup (generally Richard playing semi-acoustic guitar and James playing harmonium and digital piano) would work better. (This is a practise which they have continued to this day - appearing at smaller venues such as Toynbee Hall and Lark In The Park and sympathetic underground clubnights such as The Orchestra Pit - although they have notably played the larger capacity University Of London Union and The Garage, London in support of Cardiacs). The Larcombes had by now befriended their old musical hero - Cardiacs leader Tim Smith - and he was later to produce the recording sessions for their debut album.
Along with members of Foe, Ursa and The Monsoon Bassoon, the Larcombes became involved in setting up the small House Of Stairs record label. Their first appearance on record – the instrumental “Sand (Blowing About)”, described as "a beautiful dance of fluent piano and autoharp" by Evophonic - appeared on the label’s 2002 compilation Useless In Bed Vol. 1.
In 2003 this was followed by the debut Stars In Battledress album, Secrets And Signals, which received favourable reviews in the underground press. Aural Innovations recommended the album to "those who enjoy a theatrical flair to their music" and described it as "a sometimes rich, sometimes sparse tapestry of progressive chamber pop", also noting its "lush, dreamy, fantasy quality". Ink19, noting the band's "ethereal and distinctly English" quality (and comparing them to similarly English mavericks such as Julian Cope or Felt) concluded "one has to be impressed with the talent and skill that the brothers Lancombe bring to this release with their considerable abilities... Yet, for all their technical ability and prowess, this album remains one that fails to connect emotionally." Pop Matters noted that "there is a richness and intelligent approach to each and every track" while cautioning that the album is "very pretty in some respects, but... lacks small intangibles in others."
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