Coil
Love's Secret Domain
[TVT]
Coil, comprising mainly of John Balance and Peter Christopherson (who started
his musical career at the classic industrial line-up Throbbing Gristle), is one
of the most, if not the most, imaginative musical groups in existence.
For me, a new Coil record is a treat like no other, simply because there is always something surprising, an exploration into the unknown… with always new horizons to continue towards. Coil is electronical music in aesthetic, nearly without exception, but this does not constrict them. Their covered styles range from industrial to ambient, from neo-classical to disco-influenced techno.. Often topped by vocal passages concerning strange things that escape mundane awareness, plenty of spontaneous stream-of-consciousness poetry, occultism and other things that expand thought.
Because of the variety, they have, as expected, material that I do not enjoy, but even more they have material that does not reveal itself at first listen. This is not music that you could use to fit your needs, concerning a certain situation or state of mind. This is music that you simply have to accept how it is and, as praying to an unknown god, wait and try to catch what is being communicated, without any knowledge if the hours spent listening to it will be fruitless, or source to an amount of inspiration.
"L. S. D." is not my favorite Coil album, but in time, after my initial disappointment, I have learned to appreciate it as an enlightening musical experience. The grotesque and joyful "Disco Hospital", the drugged and subliminally menacing "Things Happen", the anarchistic and beautiful "Chaostrophy", the passionate title track and the entrancing "Dark River", all are something that have to be experienced. Precise analytical descriptions would be nearly impossible to do and probably useless. Coil on "L. S. D." are experimental, but all of the time almost conservatively musical. A listener with even a small taste for "progressive" electronics should find something to appreciate on this album.
© 1999 black hate
For me, a new Coil record is a treat like no other, simply because there is always something surprising, an exploration into the unknown… with always new horizons to continue towards. Coil is electronical music in aesthetic, nearly without exception, but this does not constrict them. Their covered styles range from industrial to ambient, from neo-classical to disco-influenced techno.. Often topped by vocal passages concerning strange things that escape mundane awareness, plenty of spontaneous stream-of-consciousness poetry, occultism and other things that expand thought.
Because of the variety, they have, as expected, material that I do not enjoy, but even more they have material that does not reveal itself at first listen. This is not music that you could use to fit your needs, concerning a certain situation or state of mind. This is music that you simply have to accept how it is and, as praying to an unknown god, wait and try to catch what is being communicated, without any knowledge if the hours spent listening to it will be fruitless, or source to an amount of inspiration.
"L. S. D." is not my favorite Coil album, but in time, after my initial disappointment, I have learned to appreciate it as an enlightening musical experience. The grotesque and joyful "Disco Hospital", the drugged and subliminally menacing "Things Happen", the anarchistic and beautiful "Chaostrophy", the passionate title track and the entrancing "Dark River", all are something that have to be experienced. Precise analytical descriptions would be nearly impossible to do and probably useless. Coil on "L. S. D." are experimental, but all of the time almost conservatively musical. A listener with even a small taste for "progressive" electronics should find something to appreciate on this album.
© 1999 black hate