Strange haircuts, cardboard guitars and computer samples

Information Society - Apocryphon: Electro Roots 1982-1985

http://www.informationsociety.us/2008/06/15/312/

This album is something a little different from most of what has been reviewed here, both in style and in content. Most people should be familiar with Information Society at least from the hits "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)" , "Think" and "Walking Away", but did you know these early synthpop pioneers from Minneapolis started out with a more experimental electronic sound? I actually must admit that I did not. Although I became a fan after they released their self-titled album in 1988, I never tried to search for their prior releases, and even now I bought this really on a whim, not knowing what to expect.

The LE package is a somewhat flimsy-seeming cardboard digipack containing two brightly colored CDs, the first titled Unobtainium and the second marked as Prophets Without Honor. An individually autographed 30-page photo booklet including a bit of history and comments written by each of the three "core" members of the band is tucked into a cardboard sleeve. (I believe only the pre-ordered copies were autographed... nice touch, though.)

None of the tracks have ever been released on CD and all have been out of print for decades (or never released). CD1 is remastered versions of the band's first releases, the INSOC EP and Creatures of Influence LP. CD2 is live and unreleased tracks, plus a couple of new versions of old songs. Sound quality is a little variable, and some songs are dominated by that somewhat distorted synth sound so popular in 80s rock, but others have more unique tones and sounds the band created themselves. The style varies between experimental synth music and synthpop and while some elements sound rather dated (or nostalgic, if you prefer), many of the songs could hold their own in clubs today.

I'm going to come right out and say it - this release is genius. The tracks are not all polished, and not every one is a masterpiece, but there is a pure and raw energy here, a sense of something new and different, something playful and innocent at times hiding a more serious message, that all comes together to deliver a powerful impact. When the earliest of the music presented here was being recorded, I was a 7-year-old kid growing up in backwoods Virginia and even 6 years later when I had become a fan of the band, I don't know if I would have appreciated it, but I certainly do now. If you enjoy experimental electronic music, such as some of Laibach's pre-WAT releases, and if you enjoy any of InSoc's other work, or other synthpop such as And One or Depeche Mode, this is definitely worth checking out. Clocking in at about 111 minutes, you definitely get your money's worth.

Track listings:

Unobtainium (CD 1)

THE INSOC EP
1. Bacchanale
2. Fall In Line
3. Growing Up With Shiva
4. Get Up Away From That Thing
5. Can You Live As Fast As Me

CREATURES OF INFLUENCE
6. You Are My Hiroshima
7. Running
8. Creatures of Influence
9. Don't Lose Your Mind
10. Fall In Line
11. Signals
12. The Swamp

Prophets Without Honor (CD 2)
1. Hey Hey Hey
2. Hooked On Pablum
3. Nothing Sacred (1983)
4. Nothing Sacred (2007)
5. The Orthodox Pleasure Song
6. XMAS At Our House
7. Disco's Not Dead (It's Only Sleeping)
8. Wrongful Death (1982)
9. Wrongful Death (2007)
10. I Hate Music
11. The INSOC Commercial
12. New And Different
13. Chant Your Way
14. Say It, Say It
15. Growing Up With Shiva (2008)

Old Man Gloom - Seminar III

Old Man Gloom - Seminar III
Subtitled Zozobra, this is the band Old Man Gloom's third album, and while it is theoretically the successor to previous album Seminar II in EP form, it is in truth both a sequel, a continuance, and a summary of its predecessor. Let me explain. First, it is obviously a separate release to Seminar II, and it was released slightly after that album. Second, it is meant to be listened to back-to-back with its predecessor, as the themes on this EP continue on from those of the first album. Finally (did I forget to mention?) the EP is one single track, 27 minutes long, which encapsulates all of the many turnings of style and concept in the previous album's 17.
The key with this album is to not allow the one song's length to daunt you. It just means this isn't an album you can pop in and skip around the tracks on, changing what you're listening to every couple of minutes. If you want to properly appreciate it you have to sit down for the haul, as the song's payoffs only really have the intended effect if what comes before is heard as well.
Stylistically the band aren't all that far removed from sister-project Isis, as one of the core members of OMG is Isis vocalist/guitarist/artist/label owner Aaron Turner. OMG explore many of the same ambient passages alternated with crushing guitar and, but on their other albums these excursions are always short, compared to Isis (usually clocking in at about 4 minutes at most) and never really exploring their sonic art to its full extent. This is why Seminar III is such a refreshing listen, coming from other Old Man Gloom albums; it's wonderful to hear them really stretch their muscles. Now, don't get the impression that OMG are Isis clones, while they do bear some general similarities, and whatever genre you want to stick Isis in these guys definitely also fall into it, but they don't have the repetitive, droning ambience of Isis, and as I say the songs tend to short and often abrasive. Of course, now I do need to come to the reason why I say this album is sort of like a shorter summary of its predecessor, you see despite being one song, and despite feeling very natural in its sound, it is in many ways a series of tracks stitched together. Of course, Seminar II is in many ways one long song cut into many individual tracks, so this doesn't pose any real problems.
The musicianship itself is very good, although there isn't much in the way of the band showing off their prowess. It's more in the way that all contributors come together to create this whole; as the song moves through its various phases it feels like the badn are building to a natural conclusion, which is hit in some ways at the 21 minute mark. I should point out that the band's lyrics usually revolve around our simian brothers (the band's full name is the Old Man Gloom Alien Simian Defence League) and space, as the ambient passage prior to this climax contains samples of what I assume to be scientists discussing monkeys, which fades slightly into a truly awesome guitar riff, which curls and explores its way for about 4 minutes before fading into a quiet denouement.
The album is not an easy listen, like most of the bands stylistically related to it, OMG requires a little getting used to, and does require some attention. But once you get past the length of the song and the oddities and start to really appreciate the music, the album will greatly reward. And, of course, it is highly recommended to fans of post metal, just make sure to listen to it back-to-back with Seminar II.
[as a side note, the band was founded in Santa Fe, where there has been a yearly festival since the early 1700s in which a figure known as Zozobra, or Old Man Gloom, is burned in effigy to represent the release of the cares and worries of the past year.]

8/10

Mugison - Mugiboogie

It's taken me nearly a week, but here is the review I promised of the latest album from the opening act to Queens of the Stone Age...





Mugison - Mugiboogie
I first heard this guy live as the opening act for Queens of the Stone Age, so my initial expectations and impressions were naturally going to be a little different than the album would be. Most bands sound much louder and heavier live, but based on the set that he played I was expecting a hard rock sound that verged a little on metal (on one of the live tracks he used the death growl) The first four tracks held up my initial expectations pretty well, as they were all tracks he played live, but then things started to change. While listening to these songs, since I was enjoying them so much, I went and did a little research, and discovered that apparently Mugison (real name Örn Elías Guðmundsson) is actually an artist usually in the vien of fellow Icelanders Sigur Ros, which as anyone familiar with their sound is practcially the antithesis of hard rock. The rest of the album conforms to his earlier work fairly well, and it doesn't really veer back into hard rock (although one later track was the one with the death growl, it was very different than the live version, as this was odd experimental soundscape with muffled growled vocals)
Naturally I was disappointed that it wasn't all like the absolutely killer opening tracks, and I do suspect a lot of the people hat bought the album at the show feel similarly, but after I got past that I did start to appreciate the album as it is. There are some bluesy and country elements in Mugison's experimental tracks, and if you were to take out the hard rock tracks it would be a very well done post rock album. I've bought his earlier two albums, though I haven't really listened to them yet, and I can hear a distinct evolution in his sound. Unfortunately I'm not really a huge fan of the softer post rock movement (I am however quite familiar with the so called post metal movement) so I can't really compare Mugison to anyone other than Sigur Ros on these tracks, but from what I can tell he does them very well. They're quite pretty and appealing to listen to, and his voice has a much deeper tone (this is relative, mind) than Sigur Ros, which is much more suited to my taste. There are also more in the way of conventional rock structuring in Mugison's music than some post rock artists, which makes it a little easier to listen to in my opinion. I highly recommend the last three quarters of the album to post rock fans.
The problem to me is that the first couple tracks feel like they should be a totally different disc, maybe an EP, since they have so little in common with the rest of the album when played in order. There's this blast of bluesy hard rock, replete with somewhat sexed up lyrics a la Danko Jones, and because they're so put together it doesn't flow well. I find myself often stopping the playback now after the first four tracks unless I skip them altogether, which of course detracts from the overall experience. That said, the first tracks are very, very good in the style they're in, and I think Mugison clearly has it in him to release an absolutely killer hard rock album if he wants to.
So what's my final verdict? Taken as a whole, it feels a bit schizophrenic, like Mugison started to make a hard rock album and chickened out at the last minute, or decided to try something new on a regular album. I don't know the story behind the new sound, but I'd urge him to try maing a whole album. The set he performed was very, very good and he made a fan of me, even though he's primarily the shoegazer post rock stuff, but were he to release a whole album of songs as quality as the first ones he'd win legions more I suspect. I can't say I would recommend anything but the beginning to hard rock fans, but the latter half is very well done for what it is. As a result, I'm going to have to give this album three different ratings...
For just the first four tracks: 9/10
For the rest of the album: 8.5/10
For the album as a whole: 6.5/10