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Last year, I was pleasantly surprised by how much better Guider was than its predecessor.  Now Disappears has surprised me again, greatly toning down their signature Neu!-worship in favor of something that sounds like a hell of a lot like GVSB-worship (or perhaps merely a deep fascination with Mark E. Smith).  Fortunately, I thought Girls Against Boys were pretty awesome in their prime and The Fall aren't so bad either.  More importantly, this quizzical shift in direction coincides with a fairly massive leap forward in the band's songwriting, making this the punchiest, hookiest, leanest, and most immediately gratifying album that the band has made yet.
While comparisons to other bands are pretty unavoidable when discussing Pre Language, it isn't nearly as derivative of an album as it seems at first listen.  In fact, only Brian Case's laconic and syllabically enhanced vocals stand out as especially indebted to Smith and GVSB (kind of a shouted mumble in which every last word ends with a drawled -ah or -uh).  The issue is simply that Case's vocals tend to be the focal point.  Still, it is hard to deny the appeal of such cool disaffection, even if Case is not darkly sexual or cantankerously deranged as his predecessors.  He probably should work on concealing his influences a little better, but at least he has pretty unerring taste in choosing them.
Vocals aside, Disappears has become much better and more distinctive at what they do in all other respects.  Part of that increased focus and emphasis on structure is probably due to the addition of Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley as the band's full-time drummer, as previous drummer Graeme Gibson always seemed like one of the band's driving creative forces.  However, the drumming itself is not wildly different–both drummers are clearly in love with motorik beats (Shelley having recently toured as a member of Michael Rother's Hallogallo).  The key difference seems to be that the groove is no longer the primary objective.  Rather than locking into a cool beat and vamping on it until the song is done, Pre Language finds the band stripping away much of the bloat and improvisation in place of tight riffing and coherent songs.  Rhythmic repetition is certainly still a central component of the Disappears' aesthetic, but it has become a tool rather than an end.  Also, these songs are a lot less busy than their predecessors and the added space allows for punchier and more dynamic riffing and some welcome increased emphasis on bass lines.
All of that ultimately means that everything great about Disappears (propulsive beats, cool minimal riffs, a certain restrained bad-assness) is still there: it's just sharper and better presented than I was expecting.  Some fans may be a bit disappointed that there are no lengthy, barreling epics of repetition in the vein of Guider's "Revisiting," but it seems unlikely: there are just too many things to like here (the Fugazi-esque stabbing riff of "Joa," the rumbling tom beat of "Hibernation Sickness," the swagger and hookiness of the title piece, etc.).  I still maintain that Disappears are a band best enjoyed in single-song doses rather than an entire album, but Pre Language boasts a very high proportion of short, catchy, hard-hitting songs.  My sole other caveat is that I wish this band would get a bit wild and unhinged more often: while the guitars explode a bit at the end of "Hibernation Sickness," they stay a bit too polite, processed, and deep in the mix to be truly biting.  Those are pretty minor quibbles though, as this is pretty solid and enjoyable effort from start to finish (and an impressive evolutionary leap too).
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- Coil - Broken Aura
- Cyclobe - Silent Key
- souRce research + Leif Elggren - Fear (the scuffle of angels)
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The Unutterable comes as a pleasant surprise, that is; two great new Fall albums in a row. 15 new songs. One of them ("Dr. Bucks Letter") is my fave Fall song right now. "Octo Realm/Ketamine Sun" is really great too, as is "Cyber Insekt". The songs on this disc combine 25 years of Mark E. Smiths experience in a very individual way.Part of Ketamine sun sounds like a cassette poetry reading, while two minutes later the same song has great production and thoroughly modern instrumentation. Mark e. smith has never tried to keep a steady band. The only things he keeps is a steady vision, which he uses players to flesh out. There was such a long period that I considered The Fall to be way past their glory days that I am especially amazed at how great this (and the last) LP sound. In a way Mark E. Smith is like Billy Childish. Their musical visions are in no way the same, but both have remained very much in touch though out their 25 year careers. The title track of this CD is a one minute spoken piece that made me think of the comparison. The song after that track ("Pumpkin Soup and Mashed Potatoes") is pretty different too. It has warped brass and flute in it that remind me of the Boston 'orchestra' Jumbo which provided an outlet for many Boston musicians to play instrumentals they played in High School bands instead of the usual Rn'R instruments they play each night. "Hands Up Billy" is strange too because it has someone singing lead vocal instead of Mark E. Smith. In fact out of the 8 people in the Fall, 3 are created solely with vocals: Mark E. Smith, Steve Evets, and Kazuko Hohki. "Devolute" makes great effect of the multi-vocalists and is on of my 5 fave tracks on the disc as well, along with the aforementioned "Dr. Bucks Letter", "Octo Realm/Ketamine Sun", "Cyber Insekt", & "Serum."
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I was excited when I heard this was getting reissued, as I missed the boat on the special 93 edition, unfortunately I was somewhat saddened to find out that the disc was coming without the special packaging with post cards and such. However, when the disc showed up in my box my excitement grew again. The booklet is huge and concise - 40 pages with extensive liner notes, biography, discography, interview from the early 80s, and lots of beautiful nude photos of Cosey Fanni Tutti. As for the music, along with three lengthy instrumental sound journeys, a bonus fourth track has been added, "Such is Life" pulled from tapes of an old performance. "Time To Tell" was originally released on cassette back in 1982, then on CD for the first time in 1993. The disc showcases a time when her music was much like some of the late studio Throbbing Gristle period (Journey Through a Body / In the Shadow of the Sun). Unlike the poppy electronic body music from Chris and Cosey of the late 1980s, the music here is truly timeless. Cosey's musical talents (arguably under-utilized in TG) as a guitarist, cornet player and technician shine through in some of the best spacial drifting soundscapes, long before indie rock kids were fawning over Stars of the Lid.
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In my bedroom, behind my bed rests a small stereo which I've owned for approximately 9 years. One of my favorite moments of every day is falling back into a soft pillow with music playing while I fall asleep. Unfortunately the CD player portion of this stereo ceased to work over a month ago. I brought it into a trusted local shop and waited for nearly four weeks before it was returned to me. Unfortunately the CD portion couldn't be saved, but I could attach a portable and still get a good stereo sound behind my ears. Excited to have my player back behind my bed, 'EAR 2' was the first selection chosen to fall asleep to. Utterly blissful. Like 'EAR 1' released EARlier this year, this disc features (alleged) old sources of C&C material re-attacked with a focus on depth and space. 'EAR 2' is a revisitation of Cosey Fanni Tutti's "Time To Tell" release and while EAR1 featured about 15 medium-sized tracks, EAR2 features four long, stretched out drones with echoes and bleedings from "Time to Tell."
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- Carl Thien
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