Appliance, "Re-Conditioned"

Consisting of their first released output since going on hiatus in 2003, this set is a lengthy collection compiling all four Peel Sessions the group performed, most of their b-sides, and their three out of print early EPs before signing with Mute. The result is a five year span of music that will satisfy both the fan who has all of the albums, and the newcomer who has yet to hear anything from the trio.

RROOPP

Appliance appeared in the late 1990s as part of the prototypical "post-rock" scene that began to develop, and like contemporaries such as Fridge or Add N to X, mixed dissonant electronic experiments around a more traditional musical framework, equal parts krautrock and that of a non-German variety.Appliance not only used the synths and electronics, but also co-oped the repetition, locking many of their tracks into simple repetitive motifs that never become boring.The early "Number Three Channel is Clear" exemplifies this.Even without much in the way of keyboards or drum machines, the band locks into a Neu! type groove of guitar, bass and drums that goes from meditative rhythms to full bore playing in its relatively short duration.

This doesn’t just characterize their early work, however.While the later songs emphasize the electronics more, they maintain the dedication to repetition, like on the Peel Session take of "As Far As I Can See" from 2002.These later pieces focus more on the electronics, but often retain the guitar parts, such as how the synth textures and drum machines that mostly define "Tuesday Is Nearly Over" are lead by the plaintive guitar notes.The hybrid of technology and traditional instrumentation is reminiscent of New Order’s earlier, better moments.

Other musical references spring up subtly throughout the material here, such as the terse, tentative funk guitar that springs up on the Peel takes of "Mountains 1" and "Fast Music" (which later became "Food Music" upon its official release).While no means infringing on George Clinton's personal territory, it adds a nice element to the mix.Similarly, the death throes of Brit-pop can be heard a few times throughout this set, such as the Stone Roses-esque rhythms and psychedelic guitar moments on "Weightless Conditions" and "In The Event of Just Looking."

My favorite moments appear a lot in the earlier material, which utilizes little or nothing in the way of synths in favor of some unabashed guitar squall, such as "Pre-Rocket Science" or "Throwing A Curve Ball," both of which remind me a bit of Loop or some of Spacemen 3's harsher moments.The other extreme is represented as well, like the meshing of chaotic, noise based synth work with a traditional 'rock band' performance on "Slow Drive."

Often these sorts of collections are too heavily skewed toward one market or the other:either the career retrospective that die-hard fans are compelled to buy, often for only an EP's worth of new material, or a selection of failed experiments and ragged demos that are of little more than historical curiosity.That’s not the case here, where 15 unreleased Peel Session tracks are included, along with mostly out of print and rare material.While die-hard fans may have some of the b-sides or singles already, the Peel Sessions material alone makes this set worthy of interest.Perhaps this is the first step towards a re-activation of the band, and given their legacy presented here, that would be a great thing to happen.

samples:

• Fast Music (Peel Session)
• Weightless Conditions
• Number Three Channel is Clear