The archetypal Martin Rev sound, a perennial influence on generations of musicians, is most prominently in evidence in the works of Suicide, the duo he played in across the decades with with Alan Vega. However, the radical and distinctive nature of his music can be traced further back in time, originating in the base energy of rock'n'roll which the teenage Rev experienced as the ubiquitous soundtrack to his home city of New York.

Spanning the period 1973 to 1985, the recordings on »The Sum of Our Wounds« are much more than a collection of demos and outtakes. One has the sense of listening to a rounded album of familiar compositions, now portrayed in a completely new light. The brittle fragility of these cassette pieces reveals a deep-lying sensitivity, like a collection of wounds.