-=- SHGZ -=-
* Shoegaze * Indie * Post-Rock * Grunge * Dream Pop * Psych-Rock * Ethereal *
ARTIST..: For Against
ALBUM...: Aperture
GENRE...: Indie
STYLE...: Indie Rock, Post-Punk
YEAR....: 2018
LABEL...: Saint Marie Records
ENCODER.: FLAC 1.3.1 -8 -V
BITRATE.: 970 kbps avg
QUALITY.: 44.1kHz / 2 channels
SOURCE..: CD
TRACKS..: 11
SIZE....: 306.89 MB
URL..: http://www.facebook.com/For-Against-271880109596/
- TRACKLIST
1 Don't Do Me Any Favors 4:10
2 Breathless 3:27
3 Nightmare Life 4:25
4 Spent 3:12
5 Mindframed 2:45
6 I Wish 3:24
7 Unspeakable 3:49
8 Over Nepal 5:36
9 You Only Live Twice 4:28
10 Today Today 5:20
11 Memorial 3:31
Total Playtime: 44:07
Discovering Lincoln, Nebraska's intermittently long-running For Against in
the mid-90s was a tremendous revelation to me. After absorbing many hearty
recommendations of the band via Jack Rabid's Big Takeover magazine, I made
the plunge and bought Aperture, For Against's third proper full length. I
have yet to find another artist that so effortlessly appeals to my every
disposition - elated, sad, contemplative, or for that matter, even passive.
To me, they're the musical equivalent of one of those contouring mattresses
that are infomerical-ed to death in the wee morning hours, only For Against
possess a certain magic of wrapping their pristine soundscapes around my
psyche. For Against minted their sublime, clangy post-punk and proto-dream
pop in the mid-80s. The two albums that preceded 1993's Aperture were
Echelons in 1987, and December in '88. That pair, especially Echelons,
demonstrated a chilly, vaguely goth-informed template that would soon be
eshewed in favor of the much sublimely sweeter and fluid guitar pop that to
this day remains an indigenous For Against earmark, as well as a healthy
dollop of self-deprecation. It's hard for me to pin down my favorite For
Against album. I still crave the visceral sparks emanating from the stark
Echelons, but Aperture and it's two out of print follow-ups, Mason's
California Lunchroom (1995) & Shelf Life (1997) are best representative of
what would become the classic "For Against sound," at least in my mind.
*
Pioneering darkwave/post-punk band, For Against, have been plying their trade
on-and-off since 1984. Shelf Life was their 5th album and was originally
released in 1997. They take their influences from early 4AD and Factory bands
which was odd for a band from midwest USA at the time.
*
It was surprising-gratifying last decade, when Lincoln, Nebraska stalwarts
For Against finally garnered the cult popularity they'd long deservedùat
least in Europe, where generous, rapturous crowds hailed them as "darkwave"
pioneers. Back home, though, it took this era's shoegaze explosion/revival to
bring them equal underground acclaim, accelerated by Captured Tracks' 2014
Box Set, compiling their two LPs and EP, 1987-1989. It even received a 7.8 in
Pitchfork, suggesting, "If they had gained a tenth of the attention Interpol
attracted, it would have been a wonderful world!"
That richly deserved, delayed recognition is bound to heighten with these
reissues of their three '90s records.
-=- SHGZ -=-
P.S.
** Thanks ***
*** BCC FNT IPC SSR ***
*** For Knowing Where The Music Is At ***
*** Props to CaHeSo, awesome Asian Indie/Shoegaze ***
*** And to FANG/HOUND for supporting all the Indie lovers out there ***
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* NuHS we miss you! *
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