The death of Cardiacs leader Tim Smith in 2020 came after he’d been forced out of action for health reasons 12 years earlier. In 2014, while fans still harboured hopes of some kind of return, Prog writer Dom Lawson indulged his passion for the band with guitarist Kavus Torabi (also of Gong) – who’d return to the reactivated line-up in 2024.
As far as I’m concerned, Cardiacs were the greatest band that ever walked the Earth. The perfect combination of prog indulgence and complexity, punk energy and subversion and sublime pop melodies, the band completely changed the way I thought about music. And, like virtually Cardiacs fans, I cherish them more than any other band I’ve ever heard.
