Sunday, May 25, 2008

Comsat Angels - sleep no more (1981)



If the first Comsat Angels album (Waiting For A Miracle) was a fractured take on English new-wave, then Sleep No More features a more unified, condensed and powerful sound, one based on tight performances, claustrophobic ambient atmosphere and acerbic grooves.

The more successful numbers, the ones that focus in the atmospheric vortex of the keyboards ("Sleep No More", "Light Years"), the martial nightmare ("Dark Parade", "Restless"), the rock punch of the post-punk band ("Eye Dance", "Goat Of The West"), are enough to give you goosebumps. Theirs is a music that bridges post-punk, Gregorian chant, martial pace, psychedelia and sonic layering. Get it here.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Vainio Vaisanen Vega - endless (1998)



In this 1998 collaboration between Pansonic and Alan Vega, Pansonic create a desolate soundscape over which Vega chants his incantations. The glitch-noir futuristic disco "Medal", the noise-techno "Incredible Criminals", the factory pulse of "Motor Maniac" and "Sick Sick USA", the frozen cyclone "No Home Kings" (with delirious vocals), the free-form dadaist collage "Outrage for the Frontpage", the thriller-soundtrack of "Endless", the electric radiation of "Desperate Fa Tha Miracle", the homage to the original spirit of Suicide "Red Lights Down", the percussive/ minimalist "Fun In The Wonderland", the suspenseful electro "Baby Lips", the monolithic cardiogram ambience of "Disgrace" etc are more than simple songs; they are a visionary depiction of cyber-neurosis.

Get it here.