Customer Reviews

Musick to Play in the Dark Vol. 1

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4 star:		(1)
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It's hard to put the Coil experience into words. On the surface, it's just weird music, but underneath it all is deep symbolism, cosmic energy and some truely mind warping tones. John Balance and co. are definitely tuned into something on a much higher plane than the rest of us and MtPitD really illustrates this. One moment, the music is serene, peaceful and very relaxing. The next moment it's all torn away from you and the music takes a dark plunge, full of chaos. The first track, Are You Shivering, is quite chilling (not to make a bad pun), the sound penetrates you and chills the root of your being. Brocoli is another noteworthy track. I can't tell if this is some kind of strange joke. The lyrics don't give you a second to take it seriously. The music is a lot more structured than Coil had produced in the last few years and it's definitely welcome. You can tell a lot went into this recording and listening to it is a very rewarding experience.

Unlike other previous Coil recordings this CD was based on Moon structures, instead of Solar which gives it a very different feel. Most people who read this title will feel as if it is going to be a return to the blood chilling sounds that they created before, but it isn't at all. This is total otherworldly music, not in the nature of the sound of Black Light District, but in a more transcendental sort of way. The sounds are very enveloping they are almost intrancing, kind of building on some elements that "Baby Food" had. The music is liquid, watery it seems to go right through you. This music is like osmosis, the more you listen the more you take a way from it. The artwork mirror the sound very well. No sharp edges to cut yourself with, but you may find that you have already drowned.

This is one of the best coil's cd ever. It has the hidden strenght to go straight to your mind. Each time you listen to it your journey goes deeper. 'The dreamer is still asleep' and 'Broccoli' lead you into another dimension of consciousness pulling the strings of your senses. Listen to this music at night, as the title recommends, and you'll never be the same.

This album is about willing immersion in the strange...wherever that may lead.

One piece, 'Red Queen', is a challenge to the listener who has taken revolutionary art and "absorbed it, neutralised it, made it safe" (like the 'hipster' degenerates who have 'assimilated' black metal by making it ironic and therefore sterile).

What is the alternative? Shakespeare wrote: "They say miracles are past, and we have our philosophical persons, to make modern and familiar, things supernatural and causeless. Hence is it that we make trifles of terrors, ensconcing ourselves into seeming knowledge, when we should submit ourselves to an unknown fear."

That is precisely what Coil advocate here, particularly on the last track 'The Dreamer is Still Asleep', which describes how the dreamer invents new landscapes. Although the dream journey is a dark one ("we forget the space between people and things is empty"), its tragic geometry gives depth to the blood of waking life. So please be silent and let dreamers continue to dream...otherwise the universe may cease to exist.

Is this it, the best Coil record there is? Quite possibly. Although Volume 2 is also brilliant this has more variety. It begins with dark, sweeping synth lines on 'Are You Shivering?' which are joined by stuttering vocals and dripping sounds before John Balance's trademark voice comes in, speaking of being 'drowned in gold' and 'dreams of vitality'. Supposedly, this song is about taking MDMA when your teeth chatter and vision shakes. The song finishes with the line that perfectly sums up the LP: 'This is moon musick, in the light of the moon'. The second track is the majestic 'Red Birds Will Fly Out of the East and Destroy Paris in a Night', based on a Nostradumus prophecy. It's an instrumental,very dancey (in a Coil way) and clocks in at about 13 minutes. Track three is 'Red Queen', a dissection of celebrity and supposedly also about lies of the media. It's a Thighpaulsandra (piano)-led track with a sound that wouldn't be out of place in a classy bar. That is, until Balance's spoken vocals come in again: 'what are you going to do, if they don't believe you?'. Another long track around 10 minutes. The next track is 'Broccoli', an unusual song in that it feature Peter Christopherson on vocals. The feel is very minimal; low synths and melancholic backing vocals. The lyrics are John's and talk about vegetables and death: 'wise words from the departing, always eat your greens.' Track 5, 'Strange Birds' is another lyricless piece apart from the one line: 'one day your eggs will hatch, and some very strange birds are going to emerge.' The track has weird bird and animal calls mixed in with synths and drones. Always reminds me of a swampy rain forest. The final track is the epic 'The Dreamer is Still Asleep'. It's lyrics center on lucid dreaming and sleep, and according to Coil it's also about William Blake (the poet). A music box melody entwines with a one-note bass line and ethereal backing vocals. The effect is beautiful and the mood definitely corresponds with the title, 'musick to play in the dark.' Most of the tracks also have strange glitching clicks in bizarre (and seemingly random) rhythms which add to the mysteriousness of the record. So, in conclusion this record is, in my opinion, Coil's greatest achievement.

Listening to this album, among my top 10 favorites of all time, is a spiritual experience. You needn't be religious - the album takes you to another time and place and I'm not sure where that place is. It stirs up memories and simulates new thoughts. Don't do drugs. Don't drop acid. Instead, stay up late and listen to Musick (sic) to Play in the Dark.

Listening to this album requires patience. There are no pop hooks and about half the songs don't contain lyrics. For that reason, unless you are accustomed to albums like this, I wouldn't recommend this as your first COIL album - it would be better to start with something like Scatology, Love's Secret Domain or Horse Rotorvator.

One of the few groups around that still give you goosebumps while you listen, envelop and devour the dreamy soundscapes.

BUY THIS WHILE YOU CAN!

A good album, but Volume 2 is better, my favorite track on the album is "Red Birds Will Fly Out Of The East And Destroy In A Night", a cool sounding track, but I hope it isn't true.

this is truly a perfect experience, get it while you can