In 2000, Josh Wambeke (one half of the psychedelic pop duo Phineas Gage) laid down some 4 track demos that never quite found a home with Phineas Gage. While Patrick Porter (Gage’s other half) went on to record the solo Lisha Kill , Wambeke returned to these odds and ends for inspiration. After fleshing out the kernels of ideas in the demos with a full band (Josh Cedillo, Zac Hillman, and Mike Dewey), the debut CD by Fell was born. Fell wraps the source tapes’ glitches, drum machine loops, and computer generated washes and effects inside tight pop constructions. What emerges is a cybernetic organism that feeds on technology and incorporates it in its warm fleshy confines (with the occasional bits bursting through the skin). So while stylistically Fell is situated in the nexus between shoegaze, slowcore, and dream pop and integrates elements from middle period Cure, Chameleons, and even the slow crush of bands like Codeine, you get the feeling that wholesale membership in any of these genres doesn’t suit the band. Were it not for Camera Obscura’s willingness to seek out and rescue such examples of “hard to pigeonhole” music, this disc would likely remain unheard. And that would be a pity.
Despite the great organic feel and interaction between Fell’s members, the electronic touches that kept the original material from these tracks from inclusion on Phineas Gage projects are never far from the surface. Glitches, drum machine loops, and computer generated washes and effects are always in play but never so much so that they detract from what is basically a pop band exploring the depths of its psyche in search of its sound. Similarly, the balance between vocal and instrumentation is admirable with neither gaining the upper hand. While this means the listener has to focus much more attention to uncover the lyrics, it also means that the vocals are not privileged so much as a source of narrative as they are of emotion. So although the lyrics often document the painful process of Wambeke working through some personal demons, they are not so much a focus that they distract the listener from the primary thrust of the song. In the best cases, the vocals become merely another instrument in the mix, keeping the whole nicely balanced.
Musically, the songs vary from the cool glass of lemonade on a hazy afternoon that is “Summer” to the spiraling, clanging crescendo of the latter half of “Polarized Verse” with trips down great side streets in between. The intro from “Effigy” with its tight cymbal glitch and drum machine loop and lyrics threatening metaphorical violence in a search for another’s true identity could be a demo for early Nine Inch Nails but the song transforms into a modulating circular riff which wouldn’t be out of place on a Slint record without missing a beat. Sprinkled throughout are small interludes and half-formed ideas which can form intros to tracks (“Solitary Transmission) or serve as bridging tracks themselves (“Interlude”, “Rusty Fields”). Some of my other favorite moments are “Some Rainy Day in 98’”’s haunting refrain and the epic “Vacant Song”s lithe guitar and drums teetering along on the spine of a lilting and minimal keyboard sequence.
Structurally, Wambeke also brings some really interesting devices to bear. The aforementioned “Solitary Transmission” is actually a series of musical episodes first taken sequentially, then converging together on a vanishing point. “End Forever” maintains the presence of its skeletal and skittering intro throughout the song albeit subtly morphed and restated. The presence of this kind of care shows best through repeated listens and with Fell, Camera Obscura has brought us another sleeper of a record that just gets better with age.
