foetus - (not adam)
the man who has been previously known by all manner of pseudo's continues to keep it lean and mean and is now simply 'foetus'. this 4 track ep is the first noise from his den of sonic chaos since 'flow' from a few years ago. featuring the opening track of the forthcoming album 'love' the opening harpsichord and atmospherics indicate a new direction for the bombastic overlord. fear not though. for all the reintroduction of looped orchestral strings and a dramatic twang piano it's a wonderful 4 minutes of classical foetus recalling the glory days of his 'nail' period. hi-tension and drama and a complete withdrawal from the over the top guitar noise that has dominated his previous few releases, for now, in the space we can hear jims tortured voice. excellent stuff and should heighten anyone's expectations for the album.
the rest of the ep features 2 remixes ('miracle', and 'time marches on') and an ep only track ('not in your hands').
'miracle' has a weird and wonderful broken beat, which stops and starts just when you least expect it, there is also a return of the guitar. a electronica infused rock stomper with jims trademark growls matched up against some grandiose strings and alarm clock tick tocking .. or is it a bomb .. with foetus you are never quite sure .. still a cracking track.
'not in your hand' continues apace, jims vocals are all treated and messed up. once again cinematic strings open the proceedings before a deep and low groove is set up, all swamp funk and new orleans voodoo vibes, and a touch of lounge jazz and 1930's class. this track is probably the most relaxed and laid back foetus track i have ever heard. and you know what ? the style suits him. it's superb.
which leads to the full on rock and beats of 'time marches on' where an Apollo 440 styled distorted guitar riff, electronica beats and reverb'd harpsichord all hammer it out for your attention. a little dated perhaps - but hey its a fine noise, and would match any techno gameplay where bad guys get blasted off the planet for the good of humanity.
what an excellent ep. bring on the album (may 10th!)