Customer Reviews

Prazision LP

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The first record Kranky put out, and still one of the best. Beautiful, strange, and haunting, it grabs your attention right from the start. This is slow and mesmerising (but never boring), and it sets the standard, both in terms of sound and quality, that subsequent Kranky bands will have to live up to. And although very few of these songs could be considered songs (at least in the traditional sense), they all have enough tension and drama to keep you interested. It's no wonder that Labradford, along with Low and GYBE, is one of the few Kranky bands to have achieved at least a measure of success and acclaim.

Droning. Repetitive. Minor movements. This album is all of these. Ambient in nature but having a garage band feel, the album seems like it should be a disaster. What on earth is there to like? And yet I find myself playing this more than any other album I have. I can't explain this album. The album title is appropriate - Sounds familiar but it doesn't feel right. I think I'll go toss it on now.

Kranky Records has, in a few short years risen from nothing to become the dominant label in the minimalist/ambient music world, bringing music that doesn't "rock" to a much greater audience than it previously had. And the label was, essentially, created in order to release the first Labradford record: the Prazision LP. And now, because of this record, bands like Low, Stars of the Lid, Sigur Ros and godspeed you black emperor have a place on the map.

The record, itself, is a masterpiece of subtlety. At points barely audible whooshes and drones accompany clicks and pops, while at others, ethereal feedback cries over the top of their Spectoresque soundwash. The Prazision LP does not always make itself easy to predict, but there is an underlying driving force that will take a listener (headphoned or not) on a journey.

Although Labradford's most recent records have strayed more towards traditional song structures and accessible chord patterns and their instrumentation follows a standard rock band allotment, Labradford still remain at the heart of the experimental ambient scene: more in line with Autechre than Tortoise.

For fans of subtlety and grace, the Prazision LP is an essential part of a music collection.

for about four or five years after this record came out, it was in my DJ bag almost every time. Nine years later, I'm still turning people onto it, and they still come up and ask what is this beautiful darkness. Some tracks are just stunning monolithic noise (an excellent homeopathic remedy for a crushing headache), while others are graceful wistful songs. No disrespect to the bass player, but I kind of wish he had never joined the band, or at least generally taken a more minimal role; after this record they generally fell into structures built on his slow arpeggios, and something was lost. Here it's just a duo, and it is absolutely perfect chemistry. Listen in Depth will always be a masterpiece, and C of People will always take me away. Do yourself a huge favor and get to know this record. When you want an example of the real potential of sound, you'll have one of the best.

You'd think this cd would be boring. But why isn't it? i can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's the way the instruments sound? the way they create their own melodies from a single drone. I can't figure it out. All i know is, the song "Disremember" is one of the most original pieces of music on the planet. 8 years after it's release this record still sounds fresh. Also, if you can find it, try and pick up Labradfords follow up 7 inch on Merge Records called "Julius". A great transition between Prazision and A Stable Reference.

Moog and processed guitar drone delightfully as the base for spare vocal sculptures. It will depress the already-depressed, but will also mirror relaxation or even mania, if approached from those angles. "Gratitude," the penultimate track, is one of the funniest deconstructions ever.

Must strongly go against majority opinion here, as these dreadfully droning depressives have little to say but project their own vacant misery.

As the other reviews have mentioned, I really cannot
explain my fascination with this album. I bought it
after seeing them open for Stereolab (my favorite band
of all time) here in Chicago, spiritual home to both.
They played one song for 45 minutes, and I was hooked.
They do the depression/drone thing better than any
band I've heard, and this album, although I own almost
all their stuff, is, to me, their penultimate album
(followed REALLY closely by A Stable Reference).
The ambient washes evoke some sort of calming/dread
that makes me continue to want to see what they are
up to with subsequent releases. I will have to say,
Kranky records from Chicago is probably my favorite
record label (followed closely by Thrill Jockey, also
from Chicago). I've never heard anything BORING
released from that label or that band, and although I'm
slightly saddened that Low got dropped by their pseudo-
major label, I'm GLAD that they are now releasing under
Kranky. And a band to rival Labradford on the label
recently is the superb Godspeed You Black Emperor.
Back to the album....."Gratitude" is quite a kick
for what it is (shout outs), but to me, the track that
really does it for me is Soft Return. I would compare
it to the Joy Division track "Atmosphere" in terms of
a blurb I read from the Trouser Press Record Guide
calling that song "Gently Oppressive". The same can
be said for Labradford. It is mood music for those
disenchanted individuals for whom the process of day
to day life has become tiresome and mundane (isn't that
ALL of us?). It is music that speaks directly to your
soul, and you realize that this time in which we live
tends to be a bit beyond your grasp. Listen to this
album, then watch the film Safe directly afterwards.
It's an epiphany waiting to happen.

Thank the heavens I live near Chicago!

All these reviewers keep saying "they don't know why they like it," well firstly you gotta be stupid to buy something you aren't familiar with or something you're not sure you like. Even more stupid is how you'd write a review about such an incredible band give it four or five stars and then say you don't know why you like it. This is sheer genius, ambient, mesmerising work by Labradford. Atmopsheric, INCREDIBLE work. Labradford is an brilliant band and they really deserve 5 out of 5 on this awesome CD. Buy it!! It'll change your perspectives on a lot of things. It's incredible...