5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrifying..., March 27, 2009
This review is from: Psychedelische Musique (Audio CD)
I've written a few reviews here on Amazon before, and admittedly have often been too eager to throw out the 5-star rating, while in thrall of the album I was reviewing. However, "Psychedelische Musique", IMHO, is absolutely worthy of a full 5 stars. I've had the album for over 10 years now, so it's not a rash decision.
HASTCo's first two albums were/are very good - basically, droning repetivive rock based on simple construction (guitars/bass/drums along with some cool effects here and there) and understated (yet often emphatic) vocals. A good example of this would be "Elevenate", the first track on their first album. Crushing power chords/bludgeoning rhythm section rides throughout, while the vocalist plainly states "Some people deserve to die" as an opening salvo. Fantastic! But I digress.
The third album, "P.M.", is not drone rock. It's not rock at all. It's absolutely TERRIFYING. The tracks here are steeped in tape manipulation, murky re-constructions of past HASTCo material (some tracks contain recognizable bits from the first two HASTCo albums), submerged/unintelligable vocalizations, hazy sound sculptures, repetitive textures that weave in and out and then reconfigure... basically the whole kitchen sink. It's NOT easy ambient listening. Frankly, what the album sounds like to me is the soundtrack to a night terror. In fact, nightmarish would be the best way to sum up the sounds on "P.M."; it's tough going but utterly captivating and highly disturbing in a rather indescribable way.
I'm never good at describing music; the closest thing I've ever heard to "P.M." would probably be "Rien" by Faust, but the comparison is tenuous. Or, going out on a limb - what if early Throbbing Gristle did away with the contrived shock value and did a cover of The Beatles' "Revolution 9"??? It might sound something like "P.M.".
It's a real shame that this album is so hard to come by. Anyone with a penchant for experimental "musique", or simply just likes to be challenged/frightened by sound, should hear this album. By the same token, anyone who is familiar with HASTCo's first two albums and has never heard THIS one, is in for quite an awakening.
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