The Jean Paul Sartre Experience, formed in New Zealand in 1984, played a unique mix of REM-ian folk-rock and Velvet Underground-ian psychedelic-rock achieving a painful kind of ecstasy. Jim Laing (vocals and guitar), Dave Yetton (bass) and Gary Sullivan (drums) express their teen angst via fragile, spare litanies. Their early repertory collected several gems: Flex and Walking Wild In Your Firetime on their first, self-titled EP (Flying Nun, 1986), the bluesy Jabberwocky, the rave-up Let That Good Thing Grow, the majestic Grey Parade and the catchy I Like Rain on the album Love Songs (1987), the emphatic and poppy Elemental, Slip> and Get My Point on the album The Size Of Food (Communion, 1989). Love Songs (Communion, 1988) is not a reissue, but actually compiles songs from the first EP and from the first album.

The band's career, that had been going downhill since the first, magnificent EP through the intriguing first album and down to the mediocre second album, continued the slide with the singles Precious (1992) and Breathe (1993), that sound like Church. Bleeding Star (Matador, 1993) is a confused, over-produced album that buries uninspired songs under layers of guitar effects.