VESSELS are a band who are edging ominously forward, geographically and musically. Their progress is deceptively slow. Their movement is gouging out a northern landscape of interesting places for the rest of us to visit whe the storms subside.
I seem to bump into them at intervals. Each time they are up to something. They might be re-recording, remixing, coming back from Germany, going to Edinburgh. Permanently restless.
When they planned their last European tour they made "RETREAT" to take with them. At first it was presented as a limited edition tour CD, featuring remixes of existing work, by Lee J. Malcolm, Peatronica, Little Evil (Middleman), Brendon Anderegg (Mountains), Bracken (Hood) and Errors, plus a previously unreleased tune from their earlier Minnesota sessions - Knee Jerk.
It is such a well-integrated collection, and so distinct from their roaring live performances that it would have been a shame simply to sprinkle it around as a gig souvenir. So, it is good to learn that Cuckundoo have taken it on as a part of their catalogue and it can stand as s work in its own right. I would recommend it as a very respectable part of any collection of adventurous rock movements, whether post, avant, autre or indeed , outré.
The CD's mood is spacey, with a glitchtronic sub-text of constantly shifting parts. Ambient would definitely not be the wrong word to use either - in Brian Eno's terms this is a CD that "induces calm and a space to think … able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular."
Eno's closing remark in that 1978 manifesto, "it must be as ignorable as it is interesting" is nearly met too. But there are some boldly dramatic and intrusive moments (Like final section of Little Evil's remix of "Wave Those Arms, Airmen") where a studied indifference becomes impossible. You just have to pay attention and make some aesthetic choices. Outbreaks of enthusiasm and delight, expressed as bloodied rock and roll bust into into the ethereal calm as the glacier moves on. Deep down, and whenever they feel like it VESSELS become a roaring rock and roll guitar band.
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Nevertheless the title "Retreat" is a fair indication of the generally reflective nature of the music. There are beautiful acoustic guitar passages in both versions of "Walking Through Walls" and in the final track "Knee Jerk". The roaring kind, fear not, are also loaded up and discharged with intent.
IN fact, carefully managed contrasts, with deep bass, spiky piano and nests of electronic scratches are to be expected and met throught the album, like surprise discoveries of treasure strewn along the way.
Lee J. Malcom'e remix of VESSELS' touchstone "Beast", for one eample, is a lively sprint through Steve Reich territory with plenty of its own momentum and rhythmic complexity. We seem to have had several sets of clothing for this wolf, but on this album its emerges as a new work in pretty well every sense. With no sheepskin.
"Descent", "Pea Jerk", "Remain", "An Idle Brain And The Deveil's Workshop" are the other titles.
http://www.cuckundoorecords.com
http://www.last.fm/music/Vessels
http://www.myspace.com/vesselsband
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