The Rope is the debut album by the darkwave band Black Tape for a Blue Girl. It was released on vinyl in 1986 by Projekt Records. Later cassette and CD versions were released.
In 2026, Uncut ranked The Rope at number 169 in their list of "The 200 Greatest Goth Albums", writing how the electronic-based band "spun a unique thread of ambient darkwave, neoclassical exoticism and dark cabaret on their relatively bare-boned and lo-fi debut album."
Track listing "Memory, Uncaring Friend" – (Sam Rosenthal, Allan Kraut) - 3:40 Oscar Herrera - vocals Sam Rosenthal - electronics Allan Kraut - guitar, bass, drums "Hide in Yourself" – (Sam Rosenthal, Allan Kraut) - 3:58 Kim Prior - vocals Oscar Herrera - vocals Sam Rosenthal - electronics, drum programming Allan Kraut - guitar, bass, drum machine "Within These Walls" – (Sam Rosenthal) - 3:47 Kim Prior - vocals Oscar Herrera - vocals Adam Buhler - guitar Sam Rosenthal - electronics Allan Kraut - bass "The Holy Terrors" – (Sam Rosenthal) - 2:03 Kim Prior - vocals Oscar Herrera - vocals Sam Rosenthal - electronics Allan Kraut - drums "End" – (Sam Rosenthal) - 2:22 Kim Prior - vocals Oscar Herrera - vocals Candy Sherlock - violin Sam Rosenthal - electronics "Seven Days Till Sunrise" – (Sam Rosenthal) - 2:16 Richard Watson - clarinet Cauleen Smith - cello Greg Wilson - guitar "The Rope" – (Sam Rosenthal) - 3:12 Kim Prior - vocals Oscar Herrera - vocals Richard Watson - clarinet Candy Sherlock - violin Sam Rosenthal - electronics "The Few Remaining Threads" – (Sam Rosenthal) - 3:24 Candy Sherlock - violin Sam Rosenthal - electronics Allan Kraut - drums "The Lingering Flicker" – (Sam Rosenthal) - 5:54 Lara Radford - violin Sam Rosenthal - electronics "Slow Blur" – (Sam Rosenthal) - 5:09 Lara Radford - violin Sam Rosenthal - electronics "The Floor Was Hard but Home" – (Sam Rosenthal) - 3:34 Kim Prior - vocals Greg Wilson - guitar Sam Rosenthal - electronics "We Return" – (Sam Rosenthal) - 4:13 Kim Prior - vocals Oscar Herrera - vocals Sean Whitehead - vocals Candy Sherlock - violin Sam Rosenthal - electronics Robin Russell - voice
Sources