Amorphous Androgynous
FSOL FSOL FSOL
The Emptiness Of Nothingness - A track that used to be called The Otherness, The Emptiness Of Nothingness is a pretty groovy instrumental piece based around an electric piano loop, with some drumloops, vocals and other sounds nicked from Divinity ("The Isness resampled and looped"...?). The song works very nicely as an opener in the way Elysian Feels did - in fact, the structure of the piece is very similar.
The Witchfinder - A segue (memories of FSOL!) into the next track, The Witchfinder, which was until now known as Zep (Good Love) - some slightly bizarre vocals from Gaz who, once again, sounds like a different singer, this time doing a Robert Plant impression, which suits the slightly Led Zep feeling of the track - bluesy acoustic guitar and harmonicas. The track's a bit more electronic sounding on the album than the live version we've heard, but it's still a good - and very interesting - piece. Dougans and Cobain finally cross into the world of rock.
The Witch Hunt - Another segue, and we've got a fast breakbeat and some eastern sounding violin - quite a fun, sinister sounding little piece with some jazzy overtones that come in later in the track. Drops out after a couple of minutes, which is wise as it sounds like an interlude - a very bizarre interlude.
All Is Harvest - Still being bombarded with tracks I know, this 'ere is Air, in its full near-seven minute glory. A slow moving piano and string led piece, this is probably going to be one of my all-time FSOL/AA favourites. The mix is a tiny bit cluttered in places, which is a shame, but that doesn't detract much from the track.
The Prophet - The old version of Yes My Brother with heaps of organ and guitar on top - the funkiest thing the band have produced to date. I'm really fond of this track, and have been for some time now - far, far better than the original track that turned up on the Abbey Road version of The Isness. Great stuff. Ends with another FSOL-remensicent soundscape at the end with a couple of sneaky samples from Life Form Ends! File alongside the Dead Cities scream in Meadows.
Indian Swing - Another track we've heard live, no surprises so far! This track, however, is definitely stronger in the studio, unlike The Witchfinder, of which I prefer the live version. Here, all the Indian instruments - flutes, strings, sitars and tablas - really get room to breathe and the track sounds fuller and more well rounded.
The Seasons Turn - Spoken sample, some organs and samples, followed by some of Gaz's vocals... look how the seasons turn, when the sun returns and some other stuff, and it's gone again. A really beautiful little interlude, which works in the same way Goodbye Sky (Reprise) did.
High And Dry - Track three from the EPK promo! She used to live on the east side of town, she's coming round. I had feared this song was lost forever! Best surprise so far! A really uplifting guitar-led track, with a gospel choir in the middle (which, for once, actually works!), and some Strokes-esque disorted vocals. This is an excellent piece, although I imagine it'll be a Divinity-esque opinion splitter.
Yes My Brother (You've Gotta Turn Yourself Around) - Absolutely nothing to do with the old Yes My Brother, here we have some more bluesy acoustic guitar and a really full sounding breakbeat, with some backing vocals, dirty guitar and harmonica later in the piece. File alongside Billy The Onion and The Witchfinder. Really groovy, and one of the best tracks so far.
In The Summertime Of Consciousness - Interesting introduction: eastern flutes, jazzy saxophone, really dry vocals from Gaz (no excessive FX this time!)... this is really fucking weird. The melody is downright odd and a bit uneasy, some lo-fi drums come in. No, there's not really any way I can accurately describe this song, as it's gone into some electric piano with distorted vocals now. I love this, simply because I don't understand it. At all.
Billy The Onion - Slide guitar, funky organ and that delicious electronic fuzz bass - the funk's back and really fucking great. Another track I love from the Arvika show, and luckily is pulled off really well in the studio. Really dirty, in the best possible way. Shame it lacks the really distorted bass from the end of the live version!
Another Fairy Tale Ending - Strings and synths open this piece which is the soundtrack to the current Amorphous Androgynous mini-site at the official site. Strings and choirs build up alongside some soft sounding electronics, leading to a piece that's not entirely unlike Everyone In The World Is Doing Something Without Me from Dead Cities. Really, really beautiful, nothing else to say.
The World Is Full Of Plankton - Along with All Is Harvest, this is the track I was most looking forward to on the album after hearing the clips online. This is the album's epic, at eight minutes long. Beginning with some piano, synths and messy guitar, the piece soon tidies itself up into a surprisingly Beatles-like chord progression, which slowly begins to gain momentum as Gaz starts intoning another bizarre tale, about how we're all small and insignificant. The track moves majestically onwards, and sounds as massive as The Galaxial Pharmaceutical without being anywhere near as complex. The track dies into some birdsong, before building up again for its climax at seven minutes. I hope the final record comes with a lyric booklet, as I can't understand a word he's singing in places.
The Wicker Doll - Spooky vibraphone intro, followed by synths and lo-fi piano which also feature on amorphousandrogynous.com - a very mournful piece plays adding a very resigned but beautiful end to the album. Sounds like nothing else the band have done (again!), other than hints of Requiem from Translations.
Overall - the record seems a little more cohesive as an album as opposed to The Isness, which was stylistically all over the shop; this definitely sounds like the work of a group who've got a direct focus - not only stylistically, but there are only two shorter piece, which The Isness was chock full of - it's mostly 5 or 6 minute long stuff here. However, for me this is also a downside, as it loses the playful adventurousness that The Isness has, which is one of the reasons I love that album so much. Otherwise, other than a couple of tracks in the (weaker) first half going on a little too long (the second half is distinctly the better half), there are no complaints. Most of the tracks on the album are downright excellent, and I love the overall feel to the record. It may be a little more popular with Isness-haters, but I still don't see it winning them back too many fans yet. The album is less psychedelic and more groove-based overall, but it's still not an obviously electronic record; I'll be very interested to hear how the press react to it. With all the little random atmospheric sections between the tracks, and the Divinity remix that is The Emptiness Of Nothingness, I wonder if a lot of this WAS the intended 'Isness from a FSOL perspective' record that guys were going to release that eventually turned into another Amorphous Androgynous album, or if there were, at least, moments of that involved. I'll give it a Pitchfork 8.7 on first listen.
Favourite tracks: High And Dry, In The Summertime Of Consciousness, The World Is Full Of Plankton (ha, just like The Isness, the actual 'songs' are my favourite tracks again!).
Least favourite tracks: The Emptiness Of Nothingness and The Witch Hunt are the only ones I'm not too bowled over by. Indian Swing isn't that outstanding, either.
Some interesting notes album the album... the tracks are published by Earthbeat Productions - a name we haven't seen for a while, and the first time something's been published with that name. The back cover is a pretty old photo, the one of their faces seen through pieces of glass at their feet... the photo was around and used to promote Translations. Catalogue number is ALICE001.
And for anyone asking if I can leak it online, I'm afraid not. I don't think it'd go down to well with the band and their management, plus I can't get round the copy protection even if I wanted to. Be patient, most records will leak at some point anyway.