The Sundays’ debut album Reading, Writing and Arithmetic was the band’s most commercially successful work for good reason.
Released on Jan. 15, 1990, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic quickly asserted that The Sundays were going to leave an impact on the indie-pop sphere. In fact, music critic Ira Robbins said in his review of the record in Rolling Stone that the debuting band deserves “an honoured place” among the female-led pop groups of the late ‘80s to early ‘90s, listing the Cocteau Twins, 10,000 Maniacs and Everything but the Girl as fellow inhibitors of the genre.
The album was also produced by Ray Shulman, an English musician who was most widely known for producing the work of Björk’s first band The Sugarcubes at the time. His affiliation with The Sundays’ single and debut album helped to draw in pre-existing fans of the genre, but it was the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the album that asserted its generic significance.
The Sundays’ commercial success began with their single for Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, “Here’s Where the Story Ends.”
The rhythmic guitar strum that opens the track has come to define The Sundays’ sound — second to Harriet Wheeler’s strong vocals and catchy lyrics. The use of light guitar and soft drums throughout the album pairs with Wheeler’s bright and clear voice to add a folksy touch to the indie pop genre and serves as a point of individuality within The Sundays’ take on the ever-growing genre.
In an MTV interview with the Sundays’ main duo, who also double as husband and wife, vocalist Harriet Wheeler and guitarist David Gavurin said that their rise to stardom “happened really, really quickly” and was “incredibly lucky” despite their relative indifference toward the fortunes and privileges that come with fame.
After 35 years, the album’s sudden rise to mainstream attention was replicated once again when the track “You’re Not the Only One I Know” grew increasingly popular on social media.
Many of The Sundays’ upbeat tracks are best described as epitomizing the feeling when the sun finally shines after days of rain, immediately establishing an optimistic and blissful atmosphere.
“You’re Not the Only One I Know” is one of these delightful tracks. It is unsurprising that this track can still garner the attention of many despite decades having passed since its release.
Wheeler’s rhythmic repetition of the iconic lyrics “you’re not the only one that I know / and I’m too proud to talk to you anyway” backlit by soft guitar and drums has become the pillar of The Sundays’ early sound through its rise in social media popularity.
According to Wheeler, the band approaches their lyrics not as stories but as “memories, if anything,” commenting on the lack of definite themes and messages in their lyrics on this album.
Gavurin also described their lyrics as “images and impressions […] all bundled together with the music.”
Using their lyrics for sound rather than outright storytelling allows them to create catchy tracks wherein Wheeler’s voice takes the central focus, not necessarily the lyrical content.
Other notable tracks on the album are “A Certain Someone” and “My Finest Hour.” The former adds in some piano notes to give the song a more fast-paced feel behind Wheeler’s increasingly intense yet still melodic voice, while the latter epitomizes the jangly indie pop of its era. This is heightened by Gavurin’s quick strumming, bringing a sense of nostalgia to the track while the lyrics iconically embody The Sundays’ sound.
Reading, Writing and Arithmetic is still an iconic debut after several decades because of The Sundays’ ability to enter the rapidly growing trend of early-‘90s influenced indie pop individualized by their unique folksy sound.