Okay, I just finished listening to the new TG CD. Here's my track by track analysis, based on my first listen (opinions may change):
1. Vow of Silence: Good way to start the album, set to a plodding, hypnotic beat, Gen's vocals all cut-up and distorted in a wide variety of ways, sounds very tribal and shamanic, like "Five Knuckle Shuffle" on ergot. Even has some of Cosey's classic droning guitar work. All in all, a good way to open the album.
2. Rabbit Snare: Very odd song, even by TG's standards. 20 Jazz Funk Greats indeed! This is kind of a jazz song, complete with lounge piano, Cosey's atmospheric cornet work, wouldn't sound out of place in a David Lynch film. Gen's vocals are pretty good on this one also, too bad I can't say the same about the rest of the album.
3. Seperated: This track is credited to Chris Carter. A very minimalist, almost ambient track.
4. Almost a Kiss: Ugh, okay, this one wasn't that great. The background music was okay, but Gen's vocals were HORRIBLE, and this is coming from someone who actually likes his singing voice. He really strains and it's just very, very bad, both in terms of vocals and terms of lyrics... I wish he didn't sound so mellow on this CD, and I miss the manic scream he put to such great effect on older tracks such as "We Hate You (Little Girls)" and "Subhuman". This sounds nothing at all like a TG song. Maybe that's the point?
5. Greasy Spoon: A mostly instrumental track that first premiered at the TG reunion show at Camber Sands a few years back. Decent track, sounds very old school TG, like the title track of their "DOA" album.
6. Lyre Liar: Very "Heathen Earth"-y, with some creepy howls/chanting, and Gen's effective repeating of the song's title over and over again.
7. Above the Below: This track is credited to Cosey. Like Carter's track, it's fairly short, ambient, sounds kind of, for lack of a better word, mucky... as if it were recorded in the stomach of an animal. Some more of Cosey's creepy cornet work.
8. Endless Not: I hated Gen's vocals on this one also, but the almost orchestral background music was a nice touch, sounded almost like Coil really.
9. The Worm Waits It's Turn: Gen's vocals were a little better on this one, but still too mellow for my tastes... Quite etheral though, again sounded more like Coil than TG... Oh yeah, this track was credited to Gen. The lyrics on this one were a little better than some of the others on the album.
10. After the Fall: last track of the album, credited to Sleazy. It's also the shortest track, basically this mass swelling of noise and chants that's pretty to listen to, but not sure if it was the best way to end the album.
The CD booklet mostly makes it seem like it was mostly Chris Carter's project. He is credited with the programming, production, and mastering, along with the rhythms, synths, and sampled sounds (Cosey is credited with lead guitar, cornet, and sampled sounds, while Sleazy is just credited with sampled sounds + design & art direction while Gen is credited with all the lyrics, vocals, bass guitar and violin). CD booklet visually is fairly bland, though the cover pic of Mount Kailash is nice and I like the new band logo, though nothing will ever replace the lightning bolt as the definitve TG symbol.
Bottom line: I'll have to listen to the album a few more times before I cast a true final judgement, but as it stands now it's just okay. Not bad, but nothing mindblowing either. The inevitable question, of course, would be "Did they really need to record this?" As they don't really seem revelant any more, so many bands having incorporated their shock tactics. Could have used more noise, could of had better vocals from Gen, could of had better lyrics. I guess you could say it's interesting to listen to, but not really revolutionary. It's all a bit too middle-aged (which is understandable), a bit too cautious, a bit too polite, kind of lacking the tension/menace/perversity of their older material. Not that all of TG's old stuff was like that, of course, as they did have some poppy material back then (most of which was their weakest material IMO, with a few exceptions, such as "United"). I guess this is just kind of a slight let-down, but maybe my expectations were too high. I mean, I'm a fanatical TG fan... have all the albums, have all the live shows/box sets, even have some of the videos. I can see someone who has never heard the band before being blown away by this, but I think those who are really very familiar with the band's back catalog might just be a little disappointed.
Oh well, here's looking foward to the upcoming DVD box set. |
