Norwegian singer-songwriter Jenny Hval said in 2011 that '' Laughing Stock '' " is an incredibly intuitive and bare recording – some songs feel like vapour trails . To me , every sound on the album is about death , like the songs are about to die , like a band of Beckett characters . But at the same time the album is so emotional . ' After The Flood ' is like crying . After July 22 the day of the 2011 Norway attacks , '' Laughing Stock '' was one of two records I wanted to listen to . " Scottish singer King Creosote said " I think of the final two albums by Talk Talk as siblings very close in age . If '' Spirit of Eden '' is the older , pretty and sophisticated big sister who got all the A grades , then '' Laughing Stock '' is the wayward , grubby wee brother who got kicked out of school for skiving . " Tom Fleming of Wild Beasts , whose bands have been often compared to Talk Talk , praised the album and commented that it is a " kind of a dead end . It 's like minimal techno . It 's like , how much more minimal can you be ? " After engineering '' Laughing Stock '' , Phill Brown said " there was divorce , breakdown . It was intense . I have never worked on more focussed sessions though . And no – I would n't work in the dark again . It was difficult getting back to ' normal ' sessions . " However , compared to prior Talk Talk albums , he goes on to note that " '' Laughing Stock '' is a different beast . I am very proud of the album , it 's probably one of my best projects , but I find it dark and claustrophobic . " '' Laughing Stock '' was the last release in the band 's career , as Talk Talk silently disbanded in 1992 , as Hollis wished to focus on his family . Paul Webb rejoined Lee Harris , and the two went on to form the band . O.rang , who recorded several albums in the 1990s , while Tim Friese-Greene started recording under the name Heligoland . Mark Hollis effectively left the music industry , but in 1998 released his unexpected self-titled solo début '' Mark Hollis '' , which was much in keeping with the post-rock sound of '' Spirit of Eden '' and '' Laughing Stock '' , finding inspiration not in the popular music of the day , but rather in 20th-century classical music and jazz from the late fifties and sixties , but he officially retired from the music industry shortly afterwards
2011 Norway attacks
2011 Norway attacks
Laughing Stock