Phylr "Halflife" Invisible Records INV 110 1999 (59:26)
King (3:15)
Biscuit (3:14)
Turn and Smile (4:51)
Foxhole Prayers (2:55)
Sweet and Wasted (3:21)
Blowhole Etc. (5:20)
Everything is Fine (4:55)
Gravy Detective (5:05)
Progain (5:02)
Superb Whiskers (8:16)
Far and Away (Circuit Redux Remix) (7:10)
Xsad (3:08)
Greener Pastures (2:54)
All songs by j.f. coleman except Xsad by phil puleo. carolyn "honeychild" coleman (additional vocals on "turn and smile"), dawn mccarthy (additional vocals on "xsad"), steve mcmillen (protagonist in "blowhole"), bill bronson (bass on "superb whiskers"), tierry perroud (bass clarinet on "xsad") and phil puleo (most everything on "xsad").
"Halflife" is the second outing by former Cop Shoot Cop member J.F. Coleman as Phylr. The debut Phylr album, 1997's magnificent "Contra La Puerta" found a strikingly beautiful balance between eerie soundtrack style atmospheres, samples, piano and meaty beats and bass lines. "Halflife" is similar to "Contra.." in that it retains a mix of ambiance and beats, but is also a little more varied by adding vocals, narrative samples and a bit of a jazz feel here and there. Three tracks add vocals/co-vocals. "Turn and Smile" and "Everything is Fine" would fit right in on the Here album "Brooklyn Bank" from earlier this year. The former features Coleman's best vocal performance (and great co-vocals by Carolyn Coleman on the chorus) while the vocals on the latter are a bit grating, same for the other track with vocals, "Progain". "Blowhole, etc." and "Greener Pastures" are two ambient pieces, both of which include Godspeed You Black Emperor! style spoken narrative samples. "Sweet and Wasted", the first few minutes of "Superb Whiskers" and "Xsad" are the other ambient excursions. "Xsad" in particular is a beautifully moody piece that makes me wonder why Phil Puleo has yet to release a solo album of his own. "Gravy Detective" and "Superb Whiskers" both supply a bit of a jazz feel via the beat and horn samples. "Far and Away" is a fast breakbeat laden extended remix of "Distance" from the debut album by Circuit Redux. Listening to this track reminds me of what's missing from much of the rest of the cd ... the dark, claustrophobic tension and depth that "Contra La Puerta" has. In fact, much of "Halflife" fails to grab me like "Contra.." does. It's similar to the Here disc in that it's uneven, not as solid from start to finish ... too many tracks are only so-so to good, rather than all being great. "Halflife" is certainly not bad, but it leaves me yearning for more. One thing is certain though, Coleman would have no problem getting a movie scoring gig any day of the week ...
Where did I get this cd? - mail order via CDWorld.