“Systems of Romance”, John Foxx

This way: Systems of Romance

I love the solo albums of John Foxx. His work with Ultravox is stellar, but his unique vision is best left without a committee. The Garden is a 1981 album by John Foxx, the follow-up to his debut solo album Metamatic, released the previous year. However, its instrumentation and highly romantic style is more comparable to Systems of Romance, his last album with former band Ultravox, released in 1978.

The sound and subject matter of The Garden were informed by a number of factors: the composer's Catholic upbringing and early exposure to Latin mass and Gregorian chant; his exploration of England’s countryside, architecture and history following the release of Metamatic; and the song “Systems of Romance”, which had been written during sessions for the Ultravox album of the same name but was not included on the record, even though its title was used.

[Spotify] Systems of Romance

[Extra credit] Systems of Romance Live From 1983