Late in 1986 Australian-born brothers Harry on bass guitar and Rowland S. Howard on guitar, and United Kingdom-born Epic Soundtracks on drums were not invited to the recording sessions for Crime and the City Solutions Shine LP. As they had already been rehearsing and recording with Genevieve McGuckin for what was seen at the time as a solo outlet for Rowland they then became a permanent band. Crime & the City Solution. With Rowland's then-girlfriend, Genevieve McGuckin on keyboards, Harry, Rowland and Soundtracks formed another rock band, These Immortal Souls, in London in 1987. Rowland explained why he formed the group, "I had lots of songs I really liked... songs that would never have been done if I hadn't said, 'Right, I'm going to sing them,' because you can't give somebody a set of lyrics and tell them what to sing if you want any kind of sincerity." The group's debut single, "Marry Me ", was issued in September 1987. Melody Makers reviewer asked "What possesses Rowland Howard when he writes an immaculate piece of music, something that might have qualified as the score for Romero's next film?... what spirit galvanizes this frail young man to bugger it all up by singing?" and then answered "It's arrogance. Punishable arrogance... in black hole of insensitivity, on to ruin the hard work of others." A 12" extended play version, Marry Me, with three tracks was reviewed by AllMusic's Dean McFarlane "while the EP is astonishing, it is merely a hint of what was to come the following year... features a rendition of 'Open up and Bleed' which is so devastating as to justify seeking out." Their first studio album, Get Lost , was released in October of that year on Mute Records. The tracks were mostly written by Rowland. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described their material as "dark, ominous, challenging rock music." The group were described by Charles Spano of AllMusic as taking a "wander through the haze of smoky cabarets and faded photos worn at the edges." He felt the album was "Simultaneously rocking, strangely beautiful, and scary, foreshadowed the sound of bands to come over a decade later." They followed with tours of Europe and a 35-date tour of the United States where the album was first non USA product released by SST Records. Back in 1982 Howard, McGuckin and US singer, Lydia Lunch, had recorded an album, Honeymoon in Red, which was released on Lunch's Widowspeak label in 1987. They had originally used Rowland's former bandmates from the Birthday Party: Nick Cave, Mick Harvey and Tracy Pew, as well as Thurston Moore. These Immortal Souls undertook a short tour of Australia in 1988. In 1991 Rowland and Lunch released an album, Shotgun Wedding, and toured with a live band that included his brother Harry. In 1992 These Immortal Souls issued a single "King of Kalifornia" and, in October, their second album, I'm Never Gonna Die Again, which was co-produced by the group with John Rivers. By that time Soundtracks was working on his solo music career and had left the group. The final European tours saw Chris Hughes who had previously worked with the band on an Australian tour take the drum stool. A AllMusic's Nitsuh Abebe declared the album was "a well-handled and incredibly dramatic record that attacks with full rock force, recedes into minimal, haunting constructions, and then blasts back." The band moved to Melbourne Australia in 1995 where Craig Williamson joined on drums and Spencer P. Jones as second guitarist. This line-up recorded a track, "You Can't Unring a Bell", for a Tom Waitstribute album, Step Right Up in 1994. Other artists on that album are Pete Shelley, Tim Buckley, Violent Femmes and 10,000 Maniacs. Later Jones left the group. They continued to perform sporadically and work on new material until the band's final show at the Greyhound Hotel, St Kilda on 23 July 1998, with Lydia Lunch & Hungry Ghosts as support. Two music videos have been broadcast on ABC TV's rage: "Marry Me " and "King of Kalifornia". Kevin Godfrey a.k.a. Epic Soundtracks was found dead in his London apartment on 5 November 1997; his cause of death was not identified, despite an autopsy. Rowland S. Howard died as the result of liver cancer on 30 December 2009.
