subtle - wishingbone
a while ago, the anticon affiliated collective known as subtle released their debut album, a new white.
i never reviewed it. this was not because i didn't like it, i did. the problem was i had no idea how to describe the music. each listen revealed further hidden qualities, from its strange twisted sonics, hyperactive wordplay, to genuine pop music. just as things were going according to plan, the band were involved in a serious traffic incident putting the tour on hold, and any such promotional activities were pulled as key members of the band recovered.
then out of the blue, this fine package arrived. the cd/dvd combi is being branded as a companion piece to the album, as it features new tracks, rare tracks, and remixes of old classics. several star names are added to the melee proving the subtle approach is working and winning over all sorts of people. so, fog's andrew broder adds his vibes to swanmeat, beck features on the remix of farewell ride, though it's not that obvious, and according to the credits, and finally, mike patton adds vocals to 'the long vein voice'.
of the new tracks, swanmeat is by far one of the best things in ages, with the wonderfully rich ambience, scary monster noises hidden in the mix, and a proper song structure. something that, previously, was often held at a distance. superb. this is followed by the media baiting beck guest spot. his vocals are left dry and open at the start before being fleshed out with piano melodies, and strangely claustrophobic drums. thankfully, becks harmonising add a welcome level of depth to the weirdness making farewell ride a rather special piece of drama with a massive desire to be loved by as many people as possible.
from these 2 brilliantly compelling openers, things get mightily freaky. church organs, type writers, twisted beats, treated noises, false endings, random noise and amongst all this eccentrically layered music, there are some damn funky loops, 'the long vein of choice' even has a chant section that is reminiscent of shriekback in that you have no idea what they are on about but damn, its good! as is to be expected, highlight of the first album, f.k.o, is revisited here in an almost ambient-techno rave classic style. sunrise anthem for ibizia 2006 ? quite possibly. i'd dance and smile like a cheshire cat if this 5 minute slice of gorgeousness were to ever be dropped into a set.
so for the music alone i would wholeheartedly recommend this album, but there is more, so much more.
there is the dvd.
the film that accompanies this release, has been put together by a group called sssr. the style is like a nightmarish gothic version of terry gilliams animation that used to be dropped into the middle of monty python. it's dark, quite unsettling in parts, but the visuals are never less than beautiful. i have watched it only the once and could not really figure out if there was a narrative, but, as the eye candy is so full of detail i suspect it will take at least another 12 viewings for it to make any sense, but oh, what delicious views they will be. 3 audio tracks are set to these black and white animations, f.k.o, long vein, and swanmeat, and if you swing over to the label website there may even be a sample online for you to see just what it is that made me glued to the screen for 15 minutes.
so to summarise : weird layered star studded (pop) music that is both listenable, original and full of enjoyable sonic experimentation, with a dvd during which your mind will melt.
where's the pain?