release date: Jan. 1, 2000
format: digital (9 x File, FLAC)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Tim Friese-Greene
label: Calcium Chloride - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Lost and Lethal" (4 / 5) - 2."Shrug" - 3. "Bluebird" - 5. "Shock Treatment" - 6. "Isn't It Sad" (4 / 5) - 7. "Loaded Gun" - 9. "The Kiss-Off" (contains a cover of Hendrix' "Purple Haze" after 2 mins. pause)
Full-length album debut by Heligoland - not to be confused with the Australian band led by Karen Vogt and Steve Wheeler, nor the mere album release by Massive Attack. Instead, this is a one-man project led by Tim Friese-Greene and his first full-length follow-up to the four-track ep Creosote & Tar (1997) released on his own label Calcium Chloride via his bandcamp profile.
This is much like finding a hidden gem everyone ought to know of but only few, I guess, have ever come across, which is really sad. Everyone knows what a fundamental part Friese-Greene played in co-creating the music in one of Britain's most influential bands of the late 80s and early 90s: Talk Talk and his and Mark Hollis' experimental musical approach, which led to albums like Spirit of Eden (Sep. 1988) and Laughing Stock (Nov. 1991), but Friese-Greene also stood behind much of the music by the band as early as It's My Life (Feb. 1984).
It's not really difficult at all to hear the weight of the legacy throughout these nine compositions. There's a strong experimental and a wildness jumping out of the music, and there's a natural denial of making mainstream pop-tunes on the basis of known formulas. Instead, energy and playfulness makes everything come to life and it thrives remarkably well.
Much recommended.
