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Soundtracks of Our Lives week ending 22 July 2017 CE
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Fatalist
Fatalist
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Re: Soundtracks of Our Lives week ending 22 July 2017 CE
Jul 24, 2017, 14:07
thesweetcheat wrote:
Fatalist wrote:
Bark Psychosis – Hex. Getting the big reissue treatment soon, no doubt with much trumpet blowing from the press. But personally, while this might be the album for which the term ‘post-rock’ was originally coined, I’ve never quite got over my disappointment with it after the astonishing 20 minute plus single ‘Scum’ which came before it. Yes, it’s all very lush and nocturnal, but often as not, it doesn’t really go anywhere – driving endlessly over the Westway at 3am as a metaphor might sound like heaven to some, but in terms of atmosphere and dynamics, there’s nothing here that’s a patch on ‘Scum’. The whispered/murmured vocals also do my head in after a while. And the comparison with late period Talk Talk, which was entirely valid re ‘Scum’, really isn’t that strong – Hex is more like a proggy take on the classic 4AD sound. It’s not a bad album, just not as great as many claim.


Good assessment. I was late coming to Bark Psychosis, hoping for something in the Disco Inferno vein (as they were both lumped under the post-rock label). I like Hex, but compared to the DI stuff it feels a little aimless.


Seek out the ManMan Ep by BP (which came before 'Scum'), some vaguely DI-ish stuff on there. Their much later Codename:Dustsucker album (essentially a Graham Sutton solo LP) is more electronic, but a bit so_so.
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