____ _____ ___ ________ _______ _____ _______ _______ ____ _____
\ |/ // |/ \\_ // __//_ //_ // |/ /
_ _/ _/ / |_ / / \_ /____/ _/ / _/ /__
_\\\____\_____\______/___/\____/____\_______________\_____\_____\_____\\//_
cdr|m's
.:: a klangwerk release ..................................................::.
artist :: nurse with wound
release :: funeral music for perez p
year :: 2001
genre :: electronic
label :: united dairies
catalogue :: ud 098 cd
date :: 09-aug-2002
quality :: 192kbps/44,1khz
source :: compact disc
.::.......................................................................::.
01 yagga blues 5:52
02 yagga blues (instrumental) 5:42
03 funeral music for p prado (full) 33:26
04 i am the poison 9:53
05 journey through cheese 23:08
playtime :: 01h 18m 01s
.::.......................................................................::.
this is a collection of previously released, now out-of-print
releases, the yagga blues and soresucker eps, that compiles four
outstanding tracks and one pretty good one, for a total of 78
minutes of very diverse music. this is part of what makes nurse
with wound so exciting: each record is a crapshoot. one is never
quite sure what one is going to get. one may be certain, however,
that it will not be boring.
the first two tracks are "yagga blues," taken from the stellar who
can i turn to stereo, and an instrumental mix of the same track.
for nurse with wound, purveyors of what they refer to as "cod
surrealism," this is a very straightforward titled track. "yagga
blues" mixes several layers of hand played percussion, with a
decidedly "eastern" feel, with a very soulful and deep female
vocal track, and some eerie electronics that float in and out of
the background. it's exotic, entrancing, and otherworldly, and one
of nurse with wound's most accessible and groove-oriented pieces.
the instrumental mix is exactly that, nothing new. the lack of
vocals, however, allows the listener to focus more on the
interplay of the rhythm tracks, and get a better feel for the
texture of the track. both together are about ten minutes, so
having one right after the other does not wear one out on the
music.
the record immediately shifts gears on the third track, "funeral
music for perez prado (full version)," which is 33 minutes of
ambient electronic tones. the music is very amorphous, with
minimal melodic and rhythmic forms, but a regular and discernable
ebb and flow that creates the feeling of rising slowly, floating
and rising again. based on the title, one wonders if the intent
was to create a transcendent state, like that of the soul leaving
a body. music like this is the most difficult to describe as its
effect is so largely one of purely emotional impact. i will just
say that it is the most successful and satisfying piece of music
on this record, and it has become one of my favorite nurse with
wound tracks. given its unwieldy length, it demands a greater
devotion than most music, but it rewards in kind.
sadly, however, that means the remainder of the record is
downhill. next up is "i am the poison," which is by no means a bad
song, but does tend to pale just a tiny bit in comparison to what
has come before it. this song is lifted from the great and bizarre
sugar fish drink, stephen stapleton's (who is nurse with wound)
fruitful collaboration with john balance of coil. it's a strange
and simple track, built around a repetitive two-note bass sequence
and balance's mystic chants. it's his voice which lends the track
its power, and he ominously intones a bizarre hymn that seems to
draw inspiration from the gnostic text, "thunder: perfect mind"
(which previously inspired an entire album of the same name by
nurse with wound). about halfway through this track, guitar buzz
and squeals and other unnerving sounds begin to overtake the
solemn space of the earlier portions of the song, which creates
the impression of a decent into madness. this is an interesting
track in the way it straddles nurse with wound's earlier and later
periods: it owes a debt to their earlier experiments with noise
and chaos, but greatly benefits from the later work's increased
emphasis on structure and control of mood.
the last track, "journey through cheese," would be much better if
it were somewhere in the neighborhood of less than half of its 23
minute length. there is simply not enough in this song to justify
its length. it's an "industrial" piece in the sense that it sounds
like one is standing in the midst of a very well-coordinated
industrial facility, all clanks and clangs, buzz and static, plus
some squealing cats. it's a very well constructed piece of music,
and it's fun to pick stuff out, some processed feedback here, a
line printer there, but could have been just as effective at a
quarter of its length. its too bad too, because after such an
impressive collection of songs which has preceded it, "journey
through cheese" takes on the feel of filler, which is unnecessary
when the music is otherwise so good.
if you have ever wondered what the hell is up with nurse with
wound, this is a great record to start with. it's filled with
great music and gives one a good sense of the various different
personalities at work within the head of mr. stapleton. and even
if you haven't wondered that, this record stands as a good
explanation of why you should.
.::.......................................................................::.
greetings :: sb, qdp, sour, dps, it, rac, dh, sfe, hbz, igr and mgc
.::.......................................................................::.