Bowery Electric

Bowery Electric | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 16, 1995)
• Original Release Date: August 31, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Kranky
• ASIN: B000001PVY
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #222,019 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Awake but numb, July 18, 2000

By 

loteq (Regensburg/Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bowery Electric (Audio CD)

Dark, repetitive, and utterly hypnotic, Bowery Electric's first album recalls classic noise-rock from the likes of Loop, My Bloody Valentine, and Slowdive. While BE's latter-day records pushed into techno/trip-hop territory, this CD has a more traditional rock approach. Although the droning guitars, slow tempos, and barely audible vocals create a somewhat joyless but relaxing atmosphere, I didn't find much substantive material here. There are only faint traces of rhythmic and melodic variation between the songs, and even after several listenings, many tracks are just indistinguishable from each other. Also, this album hasn't much of the pop sensibilities of "Beat" or "Lushlife", and it's more notable for its production than the songwriting. My favorite pieces here are "Next to nothing", "Another road", and the drumless "Over and over". The rest isn't bad by any means, it's just that it's always the same style. It's worth a listen, but Bowery Electric would outdo themselves with their next album, the fantastic "Beat".

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ... defocus ..., August 26, 2003

By 

Travis Miller (Shepherdstown, WV United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bowery Electric (Audio CD)

I'm generally not a rock fan - my tastes lean more toward ambient and electronic - but there are a few rock bands who know how to tickle my eardrums in the right places, and Bowery Electric is the latest addition to that list. This album falls squarely in the drone rock genre; pretty much every song consists of a sustained, fuzzed-out guitar drone, augmented by spare basslines, subdued vocals, and nimble but relaxed beats. The effect is earthy, calming and a bit dissociative.

I tend to associate different CDs with different seasons, based on their mood, and this is definitely an "autumn" album: there's a nascent chill in the air, but there's still enough sunlight dancing between the leaves to warm your skin; there's a whiff of wood smoke in the air, and the fading summer seems all the more precious with the realization that it will soon be over. There's also a compelling virility to the insistent guitar drone, putting the "rock" into the drone rock.

I understand that their later work is rather different, but if you like droned-out shoegazer rock, you'll definitely dig this.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Their best album, September 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bowery Electric (Audio CD)

The cover artwork is culled from the famous PC adventure game "Riven". Musically, this is Bowery's most consistent and enjoyable album. If you like this kind of music, check out releases from Labradford, Seefeel, Main and Durutti Column.