Unsound Methods

Recoil | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 18, 1997)
• Original Release Date: November 18, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002NJ7
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #285,981 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

On Unsound Methods, Wilder seems to be tipping his hat to all his longstanding and faithful followers. 'Shunt' looks back on the purer electronic compositions of Bloodline, Hydrology and Depeche Mode. Speeding synth pulses, and the rhythmic sound of trains travelling down endless railroad tracks, serve as the foundation for this stormy arrangement of echoing computer effects and grandiose thematic structures. Mute. 2001. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing, hunger, March 27, 2001

By 

loteq (Regensburg/Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unsound Methods (Audio CD)

Alan Wilder left Depeche Mode in 1995, maybe because he felt superfluous and didn't feel comfortable with the increasingly rock-oriented and radio-friendly style DM had developed on "Violator" and, in particular, "Songs of F&D". Recoil's first few EP releases in the '80s were primarily notable for their extended ambient soundscapes which had more in common with, say, Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze than with DM and '80s synth-pop, but it was Recoil's first full-time album, "Bloodline", where suddenly an emphasis on vocalists of all sorts became clear. "Unsound methods" marks a further step forward in this evolution and is probably best described as something which has its roots in film-noir soundtracks, spoken-word releases and trip-hop-inclined electronica: still, all these influences are combined in such a brilliant way that the songs on "UM" begin to sound other-wordly in their beauty and intensity. Another aspect is Alan's intricate and innovative production, mixing melodic fragments, shuffling mid-tempo rhythms, sound effects and field recordings with generally dark lyrics and intriguing vocal delivery. There's an impressive variety throughout "UM", even within the individual pieces which are constantly evolving, suddenly shifting to completely different sonic pictures, or combining seemingly disparate elements to great effect, which also means that there doesn't seem to be a real stand-out track -- "UM" is without its "Black celebration", "Faith healer", or "Strange hours". The whole things works as one exceptionally well although it is not directly a concept album. The musical journey begins with the breathtaking "Incubus"-- the first three minutes are particularly gripping -- gradually introducing dark atmospherics, shimmering background textures and overlaid sharp drums. Of course, the vocal performance by Nitzer Ebb singer/guitarist Douglas McCarthy is equally gripping: He can sing, "They say my name is Death/But I'm alive" and escape with his credibility intact. No small feat, really. Douglas returns on the claustrophobic, doom-ladden "Stalker" (the second single off "UM"), another fairly dramatic and well-structured piece which also manages to fascinate and confuse simultaneously. The musically quite irritating "Luscious apparatus" features one of the more frightening narratives on this album, a story about dreams made flesh, eventually building to the simple finale: "Carla didn't think of Jack as a luscious apparatus after that". The audio accompaniment is highly kitsch and almost unlistenable at times (obviously inspired by the Crypt Keeper or so), but it doesn't matter because the lyrics are intriguing and engaging enough to leave a lasting impression. When Alan veers toward straight trip-hop, such as on "Drifting" and the 8-minute "Red river cargo", the music becomes a little tedious at times and doesn't have the intricacy and gutsy drive of "Incubus" or "Stalker"; still, there are lots of interesting textures and vocal performances in these tracks, so they do not detract much from the overall quality of "UM". Listen to "Red river cargo" and try to find out where Moby collected the ideas for his cross-over album "Play". After the quasi-industrial beats and NIN-like sequences on "Control freak" (a song about Alan himself), things calm down a bit with "Missing piece" and "Last breath", easily the most melodic and beautiful pieces on this album, offering a fine interplay between several layers of sound and rather soulful vocal delivery. But something is not quite settled here....in my opinion, the hypnotic nature and the orchestral arrangements on "Last breath" are quite in step with the title of the song, and the final cut on the album, "Shunt", seems to confirm the belief that the subject matter is about suicide. "Shunt" also happens to be musically different from the rest of the album, opening with railroad-noise and intrusive echos (unintentionally distorted because the mastering was done at high volume), then giving away to a notably more slamming beat and gentle sequencer burblings which accelerate into an all-out storm of noise towards the end of the track.

"UM" is a deadly stab in the back of traditional song structures and may be the essence of '90s post-rock music -- it proves that one doesn't need to be a great songwriter or instrumentalist to create engaging and interesting music, and Alan is indeed much more skilled in creating suspense and subtle terror than writing catchy pop songs. This is an album other electronica artists and certain synth-pop bands dream of making; I still haven't found any other record which offers such an intense and sometimes disturbing listening adventure as "UM". Whether you want to further investigate Recoil's backcatalog from here is up to you, but "UM" is one of the finest statements of the last decade and absolutely essential.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dense, twisted, and malevolent, March 5, 2000

By 

"spellvexit" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unsound Methods (Audio CD)

With each successive album, Wilder gets better and better. The theme for this album seems to be PERVERSION, tackling topics like racism, the perils of sex with complete strangers, stalking, psychosexual manipulation, and...I can't say I've ever figured out what the first track was about, but it's wonderfully evil. The vocals are always captivating, from the sensual and luxuriant lyrics in Drifting and Missing Piece to the cynically self-destructive lyrics of Maggie Estep in Luscious Apparatus and Control Freak to McCarthy's downright creepy renderings of Incubus and Stalker.

This is dark electronica at its best! Turbid and crowded samples, ponderous percussion, and occasionally, a very claustrophobic feel. What struck me the most is how *dense* the music was. I actually felt a little exhausted after listening to the album the first few times; since then, I've gotten used to it. It's dark and sexy and sweeping and sublime. Incubus was an *excellent* song to open with, and it sets the tone for the rest of the album very effectively.

If you are (or were) a Depeche Mode fan that found their music just a bit too fluffy, you won't be disappointed with Wilder's Recoil. It doesn't get much darker than this.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best Recoil album; varied and never boring;, September 19, 2002

By 

D. M. MATALLIN "Origami" (Valencia, Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unsound Methods (Audio CD)

In my opinion this is the best Recoil album so far. More focused and personal than 'Blodline', more distanced from Depeche Mode, and more varied than 'Liquid'.
It's not my wish to start one of those DM vs Wilder opinions, Depeche Mode and Recoil are quite different so why comparing them? and anyway you may like them both, it's absurd to present it as a Wilder=Depeche Mode enemy thing. Absurd.

Now as for the album... what will you get here?
An album full of electronic music that never sounds cold; Wilder mixes elements from so varied genres, maybe even unintentionally (gospel, trip hop, industrial, pop, ambient, soul, etc) so you ca never get tired of it. It's more in the vein of Massive Attack's Mezzanine than of Depeche Mode actually, thought this doesn't mean that Recoil is not personal (it is actually a breath of fresh airs among so much boring and trite stuff nowadays)or that you won't like it if you love Depeche Mode: if you have followed this band you'll easily identify many characteristics of Wilder's old imput on DM's music.

Two songs feature ex-Nitzer Ebb's singer, Doug McCarthy; these are 'Incubus' and 'Stalker', which are the most "industrial" songs in here. Both are energetic while mysterious, with McCarthy's personal voice on top of it. He doesn't need a vocoder to sound weird.
'Luscious aparatus' and 'Control freak' are, how will I put it?, electronic-rap assaults. The female singer pseudo-raps, narrating us quite curious stories, against electronic backgrounds which are very well crafted. 'Drifting' and 'Missing piece' are also sung by a female singer, but thse sound more Massive Attack-esque (by this I don't imply Wilder is imitating Massive Attack or following their success; in fact, the influence must be reciprocal I guess, since Massive Attack's Mezzanine samples a lot of sounds from Depeche Mode's 'Songs of Faith and Devotion')
While 'Red River Cargo' and 'Last Breath', which are sung by Hildia Campbell, who was one of the female singers who accompanied Depeche Mode in 'Songs f Faith and Devotion', are a sort of electronic gospel songs.

Alan Wilder achieves a very important thing with 'Unsound Methods': he explores many different musical fields, he incorporates them into his electronic conception of music, and -this is the most relevant of it all- he creates something new. 'Unsound Methods' is a fine example of what the word "innovate" means, and defies those opinions that state that everything is invented in music. There's still the possibility -and that's no small thing; artists like Massive Attack (especially in Mezzanine) or my adored The Legendary Pink Dots exemplify this perfectly - the possibility of creating new things from the things we already know.
Wilder does this with this album. Do yourself a favour, buy it.