This 1996 release is the true follow-up to Cul de Sac's remarkable debut, ECIM (the interim I DON'T WANT TO GO TO BED was a fascinating self-recorded sidebar, though it was culled and edited from past band improvisations). Cul de Sac chose to open this album in a surprising way for an instrumental band--with an acapella group vocal on the Adamson-Young chestnut, "China Gate." From there, the band members dive headlong into the gorgeous and evocative compositions of guitarist Glenn Jones. Sounding like a mix of John Fahey (their next album, THE EPIPHANY OF GLENN JONES, was a collaboration with Fahey) and the German band Can, the pieces utilize an approach of gradual unfolding, as the music builds to climaxes constructed of variations on the central themes. This was Cul de Sac's first recording with drummer Jon Proudman, who brings a lighter, jazzier feel to the music. The production work of Jon Williams is also a key reason for this album's success.
Recorded at Rainfarm Studios, North Reading, Massachusetts in August 1995.
Personnel: Glenn Jones (vocals, guitar); Robin Amos (vocals, synthesizer, electronics); Jon Proudman (vocals, drums); Chris Fujiwara (vocals).
Recording information: Rainfarm Studios, North Reading, MA (08/1995).
Unknown Contributor Role: Glenn Jones .
Arranger: Cul de Sac.
Cul De Sac: Glenn Jones (vocals, guitar); Robin Amos (vocals, synthesizer, electronics); Chris Fujiwara (vocals, bass); Jon Proudman (vocals, drums).
Engineers: Bill Salkin, Walter Stickle, Jon Williams.
Rolling Stone (6/27/96, p.59) - 3 Stars - Good - "...Cul de Sac manage to reconcile the visceral locomotion of '60s garage rock with the futuristic drone of...cheap analog synthesizers....[They] maintain a devotion to the groove, which guarantees a shot of rhythmic comfort to help those sonic challenges go down." Alternative Press (6/96, p.75) - 5 - Supreme - "...can conjure...autobahns and tsunamis, spaghetti westerns and spy flicks..." Option (9-10/96, p.101) - "...Cul De Sac creates instrumental topographies that at turns soothing, grating, meandering, intense, organic, electronic, new age, space age, chaotic and controlled....the band's transitions between styles are amazingly smooth..." Melody Maker (12/21-28/96, pp.66-67) - Ranked #50 on Melody Maker's list of 1996's `Albums Of The Year.'
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