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| Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds | |
Nocturama
[Mute]
Nick Cave shouldn't disappoint his fans with his twelfth studio album, more eclectic than his previous work. Both the piano and the voice dominate on He Wants You and Right Out of Your Hand, which could both have been taken out of the "Boatman's Call" 's sessions. A slight change of tone enfolds with the single Bring It On, actually a duet with Chris Bailey, ex-lead singer of The Saints, and featuring the come back of the Bad Seeds after a few years in the shadows. "Nocturama" was recorded in one week under the supervision of Nick Launay who had already produced the Birthday Party's first albums. Contrary to "The Boatman's Call" and "No More Shall We Part", the writing of the tracks wasn't totally arranged by Nick Cave when he entered studio and the tracks' construction therefore followed a much more impulsive path, leaving more room to the musicians' interpretation. This freedom reaches its paroxysm on the album's last track, Babe I'm On Fire, an epic song almost totally improvised with 38 verses!
On the whole, "Nocturama" is possessed with a rough and straightforward atmosphere, as much in its ballads as in its livelier songs, and includes a large variety of moods. From the nostalgia of There Is a Town to the cynicism of Dead Man In My Bed, depicting the joys of marriage, this album contains the whole of Nick Cave's world, filled with poetry and blues, love and dark impulse, a universe both intimate and without concessions.
Laure Cornaire |
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Mixed By New Order
[DMC]
One day or the other, everybody feels the need to know about the influences of their influences, their heroes' favourites, their favourites' roots. New Order's admiration for the Velvet Underground was already well documented, and one could easily guess that the band had been influenced by all the post disco electro-funk's scene of the early eighties. The exercise was therefore a perilous one for New Order as none could know for sure weather they'd manage to share their musical fancies with their fans. Yet, it's not surprising that the best band in the world is perfect even as far as their tastes are concerned, because this compilation is simply magnificent! The Velvet fits perfectly well with a giant remix of Donna Summer's famous I feel Love, The Groundhogs enlightens us on Peter Hook's bass playing, Can immerses us in the mists which surrounded Joy Division, Joey Beltram or Primal Scream make you understand the whys and hows of the New Order you love. And one is truly astonished to admit that even Cat Stevens finds his place here. This "compilation/mix/tribute" is the ideal way to understand the multiple evolutions which brought the band from "Unknown Pleasures" to "Technique" and "Power, Corruption & Lies". This winter's must have!
Frédéric Thébault |
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Compilation
[Catalogue]
Catalogue, the now unavoidable label of the French electronic scene, symbol of the ageing French touch's real renewal, provides us with its 2002 show-case. A 2002 vintage which is slowly growing full-bodied, considering the impressive numbers of commercial contenders on the participants list: Bosco and Télépopmusik, the Sporto Kantes' duet, the return of Alpha, sacked by Melankolic and recently taken in by the Parisian label. Among these "big names", one may notice the stunning remix of Love Can Damage Your Health by Télépopmusik and Sporto Kantes' new track, announcing a very personal second album. On the other hand, Alpha misses its come back with an annoying Chérie.
As for the new comers, there's some shoving and pushing for our greatest pleasure. The duet Bobby & Betty (with Mau, ex-Earthling in the role of Bobby) offers us a magnificent downtempo Can't Do This Again, Luciano and his minimalist/melodic electro brings us 15 years back, as for 2² (featuring the above mentioned Mau with a member of Télépopmusik), we can only but hope that Astronaut will have a follow-up.
At Catalogue's, electronica also has its place. Let's greet the successful collaboration between Villeneuve and M83 escaped from Goom Disques (another example of rising French labels), or the great Melt of Berg Sans Nipple, a band to be watched closely. This compilation is a beautiful success which may inspire a wish for 2003: let's hope that Catalogue will slow down their wholesome enthusiasm for compilations and let some of their artists experiment on full length albums.
Eric Semenzin |
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Reset The Preset
[City Slang/Labels]
For his new production, Martin Gretschmann a.k.a. Console (also member of The Notwist since 1997 and responsible for all the electronic part on their last albums), hasn't been idle. This new and excellent production entitled "Reset The Preset" is a double album containing two very different CDs. The first one, logically entitled "Reset", contains, for the first time, real songs beautifully interpreted by Miriam Osterreider, a friend of Martin (thus replacing the singing computer of the famous single 14-Zero-Zero on the previous album). If some of the eight tracks, like Surfin Atari, inevitably evoke The Notwist, one also finds real intelligent electro gems (Suck and Run, A+A=b) or even some dancefloor surprises (Dirt On the Wire). The second CD, "Preset", closer to the band's previous work, offers a collection of eight instrumental and ambient tracks, all obviously very well done. Far from the stereotypes of the German artists that we all know, Martin Gretschmann once again scores with this simply essential "Reset The Preset". A very good start indeed for 2003!
Renaud Martin |
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Carbon Flora
[Brume]
Dataraper: a name like a confession, considering the album's content which sounds like an assemblage of data stolen to their creators by its author "Carbon Flora" is a carbon copy of its models, an obvious catalogue of influences and references with no surprises. Dataraper took his inspiration in the cruddiest EBM sounds of these last two decades, grossly manipulated them and threw them back with no real cohesion. There, where some would have done their best to hide their influences, Dataraper makes a mess of it and simply offers a "compilation" of EBM paraphernalia stolen from Velvet Acid Christ, Skinny Puppy, Kraftwerk and Front 242. Novice listeners will discover a 45-minute digest of Dataraper's influences and a quick recap on two decades of EBM. The others may have fun trying to track each and every one of these data's origins.
Christophe Labussière |
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Gourmandise
[Brume]
Since Ilhevs and "The Inner Decline", the dark ambient tendencies of the Savoie folks were well documented. Thanks to the new record released by Patrice Duisit, yet another Savoie-based genius hiding himself behind the name of De Mange Machine, it's now complete with a terribly experimental side. The second album after a CD-R released in 1999, "Gourmandise" (just like the previous album), consists of the sound equivalent of surrealist collage. Which also seems to apply to the lyrics, since André Breton and his "exquisite corpse" (cadavres exquis") wouldn't deny such esoteric titles as La Myopie de la Rétine Boulimique or the project's name itself, De Mange Machine, a reference to the mange-machine of Barjavel's book "La Nuits des Temps". Even in the album's own structure, tracks are separated by interludes called "Blabla", bringing coherence to the album despite an irritating gimmick, some sort of stupid squeaking if one may say so. Each track is made in a total freedom thanks to the constant contribution of all kinds of different sounds: movie audio samples (porn, among other things), music boxes, street organs, birds' songs, LP crackling sounds... Though not easily accessible, this album appears as an interesting model of experiment and composition.
Carole Jay |
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Le Détour
[Labels]
When the androgynous voice and totally unclassifiable instrumentation of the magnificent Le Courage des oiseaux appeared 13 years ago, few would have imagined that Dominique A had opened a breach. Indeed, these compositions half way between Barbara and Joy Division were about to create the missing link between the "pop music" and traditional "French songs" a link constantly maintained and a breach many have benefited from (Dalcan, Miossec...). All the albums regularly and delicately delivered by Dominique A since "La Fossette", allowed us to discover songs displaying rudimentary yet always renewed aspect and melodies, with so characteristic and understandable vocals and undeniable charisma. Compiled on two CDs by the artist himself, this selection made with material taken from six of his albums (including the recent Dominique ¿ Project) is offered in a superb packaging. Let's not try not to think about the relevance of this choice, even if the absence of some tracks remains unexplained, and let's simply accept the author's decision which, to his credit, is particularly light in a continuous listening. The box contains a third CD with new songs such as Les Menteurs and the remake Teenage Kicks featuring a discreet appearance by Françoiz Breut, or L'attirance or Syl both dating back to 1991. This beautiful box comes with a booklet full of pictures, a long historic review and reviews from the fans.
Christophe Labussière |
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The So Sorry Spaceman, The So Sick Spaceman And The Noisy Shadow Vs. Double Nelson
[A.N.D. Music]
According to the story, back in the 1920s, Salvador Dali and André Breton invoked the forthcoming arrival of Double Nelson with a mix of fright and admiration. Later, Andy Warhol claimed about the mental upset that Double Nelson's music would be. The sect of the Solar Temple wasn't fooled either, since the mass suicide of all its members took place in an effort to understand and get together with the Nancy-based duet Double Nelson. Blixa Bargeld and Trent Reznor, admirers of the duet, declared on September 11, 2001, around 9.40 am that Double Nelson's time would come in 2003. Benny Hill and Bozo the clown, the band's old friends and spokesmen just confirmed it. A new CD, rightfully called "The So Sorry Spaceman, The So Sick Spaceman And The Noisy Shadow Vs. Double Nelson", has just been released. Once again, our friends from Double Nelson have won by K.O. Their seventh and last album is a triumph over obscurantism and artistic stupidity, and moreover a nice tribute to Antonin Artaud, Throbbing Gristle and Nicolas Sarkozy. They explain it very well themselves: "Life made us like that". Dear reader, you'll make your own conclusions.
Frédéric Thébault |
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L'Église Du Mouvement
Péristaltique Inversé | |
L'Église Du Mouvement Péristaltique Inversé
[Brume]
Their mysterious name hides an equally mysterious music... Even after several listenings, it's difficult to know whether the complicated structures laid out by these industrial, electro, post rock, experimental (tick off the useless mentions) hide the slightest trace of humour. And here is where the problem lies, for while posing as autistics, the band takes the risk of being eternally misunderstood. If the intentions of L'Eglise Du Mouvement Péristaltique Inversé remind us, by some of the atmospheres, of Diabologum (or more recently of Programme), the band doesn't give away the slightest clue that would allow us to find some meanings. Tracks such as Othodontie descriptive du cycle, Pression, Electro-pop pour caveau and its cryptic and eluding lyrics, tempt us to be more interested in this Eglise, but it definitely stays out of reach. Moreover, the album is rather heterogeneous and one gets bored to death on tracks like Le Chien or Ankara. Even if understanding music is not compulsory to appreciate it, the problem here is that the experimentations, although delicate and creating pleasantly bent atmospheres, won't keep up our attention. The acid ambiences give the whole album a "budding industrial" aspect, stifling the totally unintelligible lyrics, a messy music wasting the pleasure we could have had with this musical setting evoking the tormented spirit of David Lynch on L.S.D.
Christophe Labussière |
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La Vie Nouvelle (BO)
[Labels]
Philippe Grandieux's second full-length film, "La Vie Nouvelle", isn't a funny one to say the least, and the soundtrack won't contradict this. The opening track (Smell My Scent), the only song featured on the album, even if it isn't exactly joyful, delicately opens the album with a feminine voice. Sometimes close to Jarboe's (Swans), this stunning voice, at once deep and delicate, belongs to Anna Mouglali, the main actress of the film. This song was written by Josh Pearson, singer and guitarist of the band Lift To Experience (who also star in "La Vie Nouvelle" in the role of a guitarist). But despite this glimmer of hope, we quickly fall into hell... A hell described without concessions but with accuracy by Etant Donnés realizing the rest of the album. Indeed, after Alan Vega, chosen for the 1999 soundtrack of "Sombre", Philippe Grandieux chose their music to illustrate the industrial scenery of "La Vie Nouvelle", a film in which Eric and Marc Hurtado, short films' directors themselves, gave a lot for they 're also the film's editors. All along the sixteen tracks they composed, one finds this repeating rhythm, rather typical of their work (Silent Flesh, Stricken), but also very "Lynch- like" ambiences (Motionless). The violence, the beastly brutality of yet human relations, the uneasiness that the film expresses is perfectly felt through the cold and almost timeless music of the two brothers which prove, if it still was necessary, that Etant Donnés doesn't stick to the cliché of the 80's obscure little industrial band they're so often labelled with.
Carole Jay |
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Danse Macabre
[City Slang]
More than a year behind schedule, "Danse Macabre", the third album of Faint, a Nebraska-based gifted band, is finally released in France. Darker and above all more electronic than their previous album "Blank Wave Arcade" (already noticed then), "Danse Macabre" inevitably evokes the 80's gloomy sounds and the new wave (while the band pretends, believe it or not, they weren't more influenced by it than anybody else). Would The Faint be either the umpteenth band of the US rock "new wave", or one of these "dark" formations, made for gothic evening outs which endlessly repeat the same cliches? Neither of these. You just have to listen to the single Agenda Suicide, the first track of the album to understand that their music, a kind of mutant new wave, punkish and electric, is well above that: dancing electronic sounds, sharp and aggressive, irreverent and acid lyrics delivered by the cold, mechanical and stunningly British voice of Todd Baechle, the singer. All of the album's nine tracks are full of ideas, energy and arrogance, alternating quirky and dancing songs (Violent, Posed to Death) and gloomier ambiences (The Conductor). "Danse Macabre" is a very good album and this edition (or re-edition) contains a bonus cd of remixes.
Renaud Martin |
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Still & Raw
[XIII Bis]
1993. That was the year of Front 242 last studio production's release, the album "Off". Nine year gone by during which the band completely invest themselves in more or less interesting and lasting projects, but altogether maintaining Front 242's myth with an indecent ease. Thanks to apocalyptic concerts, brilliantly immortalized on "Re:Boot" and exciting side-projects (MorF, Speed Tribe, Cobalt 60 and Cyber-Tec), they always reminded us that despite their veteran's status, they still had an undeniable faculty of renewal. But this time, it's the mythical name of Front 242 that's fronting each song of "Still & Raw", and not a new side-project. From the very first seconds of the EP opening title, 7 Rain, the tone is set, the sounds at the basis and the rhythm of the track are exceptionally precise and clean. The hatched voice, with its special effects and languid melody which regenerates at the end, is a surprise and calls for admiration. You can feel the contained energy, a kind of emergency. Loud makes the tension (ours?) drop by one degree, Jean-Luc De Meyer's voice is totally freed, we might never have heard it that "musical" before. He contains it, unquestionably rich of Cobalt 60's experience. The track's lay-out and assemblage are remarkable (to be listened to with headphones!). Then the groovy rhythm of Strobe follows with its vocals and obsessing leitmotiv on which the constant precision is maintained. More than clean sounds, soberly dealt which transcend a voice completely at ease. Collision, an (almost) instrumental track quietly ends the "Still & Raw" experience. Four new productions with a bonus: a "ghost" version of 7 Rain proposing another vision of the title track, this time with a voice free of all gimmicks, proving by itself the band's difficulty to find a fair balance between nature and mutation, which doubtlessly justifies the seemingly endless waiting. The EP ends with a long "Fragments" version of an unrecognizable Strobe.
This is finesse, everything is precise, the dosage is perfect and the band made abstraction of all the references that could have hindered it. "Still & Raw" imposes respect... until the album's release.
Christophe Labussière |
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Navigating By The Stars
[Attack Attack/XIII Bis]
"Navigating by the Stars", going off on an unknown journey... if the concept of travels has always accompanied New Model Army's career (be it only because of the famous "travellers" movement they supposedly initiated), it had never been more evident than through Justin Sullivan's first solo album, as much in the atmospheres as in the lyrics themselves. Leaving NMA's rhythmic energy and vindictive texts aside, the guitarist/singer delivers an intimate and melancholic record evoking the immensity of the ocean and the pang of anguish one feels while wandering in lonely, deserted places at night... Exclusively composed of ballads, "Navigating by the Stars" confirms Sullivan's more and more obvious taste for folk, jazz or blues, as already hinted at on tracks such as Someone Like Jesus ("Eight") or Queen of My Heart ("Strange Brotherhood"). In-between deeply nostalgic acoustic and subdued electricity, the album unfolds quietly, passing from a languorous and enveloping track (Blue Ship, Navigating By the Stars) to a tense melody (Ocean Rising) or a very catchy tune (Tales of the Road, Ghost Train, Changin of the Light and their irresistible refrains), avoiding the trap of grandiloquence that sometimes spoiled New Model Army songs like No Pain or Aimless Desire. Perfectly mastered and balanced, at times enhanced with the presence of a heart-rendering harmonica (Home) or a weeping trumpet (the bewitching Sun On Water), "Navigating by the Stars" proves that Justin Sllivan is as much at ease with the classy sobriety of foggy, melancholy tracks than with his band's rock fire-brands. The impeccable and bewitching album of an irreproachable artist.
Christophe Lorentz |
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Evebuildingbomb
[Ad Noiseam]
After release of two CD-Rs by labels Sacred Sound Noise and Mechanoise in 2001, David Sullivan definitely deserved a little closer inspection. For who could have guessed, without listening carefully, that most of the sounds (though processed through a computer) in his music actually come from a guitar? Neither a "guitar" nor an electronic album, "Evebuildingbomb" is a little a bit of both, though it may sound hard to believe. With this record, Magwheels can easily satisfy the expectations of several types of publics: the adventurous amateurs of the label Constellation should give these dizzy sets of chords a try, because even if the intensity primes on the virtuosity, the sound sceneries of this music sometimes echo the world of the Canadian label. As for the disciples of more clashing electronic experimentations, they'll here find the dark and buzzing ambiences they appreciate, like on Evebuildingbomb or Live Underneath Lonely Mountain. The album's end, more than ever apocalyptic, even evokes in The Pace Is Threatening to Kill Me, the roaring sound of planes flying around in the sky... Though a convinced pacifist, David Sullivan perfectly describes here the warlike atmosphere of what sounds like an imminent bombing attack. So much so that the powerful rise suggested here becomes frightening. A rather unconventional method for a definitely unclassifiable record.
Carole Jay |
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Animositisomina
[Sanctuary]
Years go by and yet Ministry doesn't change, or so little. Since the huge metal-indus turn of "The Mind Is a Terrible Thing To Taste" in 1991, the Jourgensen/Barker duo continues its exploration of the different facets of a sound that has become a reference for numerous bands, never giving in to the temptation of a comfortable self-imitation. With a sound production as powerful as ever, "Animositisomina" won't surprise anyone. As usual, a "punching" track opens the hostilities (Animosity), followed by a series of fire-brand tracks - at times furious (Unsung), at times stunning with heaviness (the epic Leper) - and a few melodic residues like the surprising cover of Magazine's The Light Pours Out of Me. With these ten tracks crushed under the eternal guitars of the duo (Lockbox), rhythmed by overwhelming drums (Piss) and lacerated by the saturated shouts of Al Jourgensen (Stolen), the Ministry trademark formula is at its most efficient. Dense and compact, ill-tempered and cynical, "Animositisomina" is already the noisiest and most powerful manifesto of 2003...
Stéphane Leguay |
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Gotham!
[City Slang/Labels]
It would be difficult not to see various ghosts from the very coveted 80's cropping up from this "Gotham!" at the first listening. No allusion to Bauhaus, but one could mention Gang Of Four and especially Clash, then sit down and find a new band's name starting with "the" to either get excited for a few hours or spit our boredom according to one's journalism instincts. Yet, Radio 4 have nothing to be ashamed of regarding the above mentioned noble influences: what we have here is not a "mere" recycling cleverly orchestrated by a little group of wankers pushed on the front scene by some major record company. Just listen to "The New Song And Dance", their debut album released in 2000, to perceive the punk energy and the sense of pop melody. On "Gotham!", the production is richer and more danceable, even if the lyrics are always incisive and particularly violent against the policy conducted by former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani (see Save Your City). The bass guitar is put forward, leading most of the tracks and giving them an irresistible groove (the very good single Dance to the Underground, Start a Fire or Certain Tragedy) which sometimes flirt with dub. A light electro tinge, due to the presence of DFA, two producers responsible for the last albums of Primal Scream or Unkle, particularly noticeable on Speaking In Codes or Pipes Bombs. But in the end it is the flavour of punk rock that prevails, with no bitterness whatsoever. And a real communicative energy, a quality so rare it deserves a big round of applause.
Catherine Fagnot |
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Finisterre
[Mantra]
Revealed to the public in 1990 with a very good remake of Neil Young's Only Break Your Heart, British trio Saint Etienne is now back with "Finisterre", their seventh album, once again featuring the ever delicate voice of Sarah Crackwell and a naive electronic pop half way between 80's nostalgia, Japanese light music, house music and even hip-hop (like on the annoying single Soft Like Me, a duet with Wildflower's rap singer). Except for the very British voice of the English actor Michael Jayston who introduces most of the tracks with little funny speeches ("Our Father who are in heaven, please stay there") and a few outstanding tracks such as Amateur, Stop and Think It Over or Finisterre (featuring a special appearance by Cosmetique's singer Sarah Churchill), "Finisterre" is a suave pop album, not really different from the previous ones, a perfect soundtrack for peaceful and serene moments.
Renaud Martin |
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Sound Polaroids
[Bip-Hop]
These "sound polaroids" were initially created by the most famous voice thief, Robin Rimbaud (alias Scanner) and musician-graphic artist Paul Farrington (alias Tonne) for an interactive installation/performance shown at the ICA (the London's Institute of Contemporary Arts) in 1999. The purpose was to gather all kinds of sound and visual snapshots coming from pre-definite places, in this case different international cities, so as to rediscovered them through the artists' eyes (recently, Scanner more or less renewed this experience with Mike Kelley in the course of Sonic Process' itinerant exposition, making different places of Paris their own). So, despite the presence of some unavoidable sounds, this cinematic project shows that the common point of the auditory recognition of a place is language. For instance, London is heard trough Big Ben's chimes but the Tube's trademark "Mind the gap" leaves no room for further hesitation. Milan is quite abstract with less concrete sounds getting to our ears, but voices with a typical Italian accent allow the recognition. New York is described through the sound artist Stephen Vitiello's vision and just like Milan, Tokyo is only differentiated by its voices, this time recorded on television. The funniest is Montreal illustrated by a long "bank" phone conversation between two men from Quebec... As a whole, the performance was probably more convincing as a live experience but "Sound Polaroids" is nevertheless an interesting testimony, be it only for its ambient and hypnotic electronic music which still has the prime role in this project. Moreover, this unconventional journey through sounds ends on an original note thanks to the CD's multimedia track offering a "light" version of the installation.
Carole Jay |
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Compilation
[Dependent]
In such morose times for the electro-indus scene, one can't help but feel tempted to watch out for what might come next from the leading label in a genre that has become so unimaginative. Dependent is however a renown label whom managed to -undoubtedly thanks to seducing arguments- attract, at its beginnings, famous bands such as VNV Nation, Covenant and Suicide Commando (those very three bands who enabled the late label Off Beat to survive for a few years) and then helped discover talented bands such as Seabound and Ivory Frequency. Unfortunately, their respective rising success pushed VNV Nation and Covenant to turn towards major record companies to score even more. Dependent therefore seems to only count on Suicide Commando and Seabound to sell records and one might wonder what this compilation had to offer. Though very heterogeneous since partly reviving aggressive crossovers (with bands such as Sulpher or Babyland), "Septic III" shouldn't disappoint the label's fans with original versions of tracks from Seabound and Icon Of Coil, discoveries such as The Retrosic (in the line of Velvet Acid Christ) and Interlace (kind of a Skinny Puppy meets Clock DVA fusion) and the new project of an ex-member of the cultish Click Click, the strange and fascinating Paperhouse. Two regrets though:the Suicide Commando track is not a new one (Cry For Mother) and nor is Ivory Frequency's. In other words, a compilation done with "re-heated" material even if it provides the listener with some nice, cool sensations.
Stéphane Colombet |
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Anthology
[Dependent]
Suicide Commando is undoubtedly one of the major leaders of the renewal of the EBM scene. Nationality (Belgian, of course), tenacity (Johan Van Roy's been here since 1986) and a constant refusal to sink into facility (as most of their peers did) are probably the main reasons behind Suicide Commando's present status as an undeniable reference. All combined, the vocoded voices, industrial rhythms, dark atmospheres and above all this indecent faculty to merge brutality with efficiency, succeed in producing totally relentless tracks: Save Me, Necrophilia, See You In Hell, Comatose Delusion, Hellraiser... To amateurs, "Anthology" is the perfect chance to get interested in this reference of the industrial electro genre and to better understand the meaning of the initials EBM. To specialists, this will provide a new opportunity to swoon before this major influence while going through their rudiments again. Two CDs for a very coherent selection doubled by a series of rarities and a "2002" vintage hell rising remix of See You In Hell.
Christophe Labussière |
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Positions
[Discograph]
The Trash Palace is a crazy bordello led by landlord Dimitri Tikovoï, a London-based French producer who brought top class entertainers together: Brian Molko (Placebo), Alison Shaw (Cranes), John Cale, Jean-Louis Murat and the almost unknown Lian, Cozette (Tikovoï's wife) or Luna James. With such an alluring shop-window, the project seemed ambitious but promising.
But even before the album's release, music critics got wild and agonized the band after their first live appearance at last year's Route du Rock festival in Saint-Malo (Brittany). The retro setting (a plastic model and a purple armchair) and the attitudes taken on by the different participants where at best laughed at, when not booed, by the audience. Indeed, the album's overall interest in sex and its thrash glamour aesthetics result in a worn-out so-called "concept" that one can't seriously take literally. Too obvious to be disturbing. But apart for the kitsch, the album itself deserves an unprejudiced listening. For if some tracks are dispensable (especially the very affected cover of Gainsbourg's Je t'aime moi non plus by Asia Argento and Brian Molko), "Positions" yet has some good moments to offer: energetic electronic rock on The Metric System (sung by Brian Molko) or Bad Girl, more ambient tracks like Your Sweet Love taken away by Alison Shaw's delicious voice or John Cale's bewitching story on The Insult, and an audacious cover of the Velvet's Underground's own Venus In Furs sung with a little girl's voice.
The only regret is perhaps the album's anecdotic aspect considering the quality of all the guest stars, but if you're into glitter, Mirwais/Terranova hybrids and Brian Molko's sensuality, why not give Trash Palace a chance?
Laure Cornaire |
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The American label No Room For Talent should definitely change their name after their recent release of the very good split single by Cdatakill / Resurrector. An absolute must-have, should it be only for Resurrector's excellent Negative Force, an obsessing breakcore track some of us had already known for a long time thanks to the widerstand.org website. As for Cdatakill, collaborations seems to suit him, since after various splits with Abelcain, Minion or Fanny, he here confirms his creativity on a format which inspires him.
Bip-Hop, the Marseilles-based label, treats us with a live album of Angel, a project bringing together Ilpo Vþisþnen of Pan Sonic and Dirk Dresselhaus of Schneider TM. This is a 45 minute-long impro recorded in Berlin two years ago, in-between the live performances of Merzbow (for the noisy ambience) and Sonic Youth (for the sadistic torture of the guitar). The whole is doubled (as many of the label's releases) with a multimedia track, or to be more precise a live footage of the concert and its remixed version. For fans only.
Talking about Merzbow... let's talk about the current tornado of the moment, or the "Satanstornade" created by Masami Akita & Russell Haswell, his spiritual son. 47 minutes of pure noise that make you forget about the existence of silence, but as strange as it may seem, there are almost "scraps" of melody to be heard on in this record! The discovery of the laptop might have opened new sound perspectives to Masami Akita, but listeners should nevertheless not follow the booklet's advice to listen to the album with earphones at full volume... how could Warp possibly release such an extreme record ever again?
Carole Jay
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