This Heat - Deceit
(These)
Nothing could make me happier than knowing that one of my all-time favorite albums has been re-released, finally available again after a few years of high-priced collector status (even on CD!) and beautifully put together in a digipak. Deceit, This Heat's second and final full-length album was originally released on Rough Trade in 1981, and its influence has been felt far across the world of music.
For their second album, This Heat (Charles Hayward, Charles Bullen, and Gareth Williams) went with a more song-oriented "post-punk" direction, though still utilizing the studio experimentation from their self-titled 1978 debut. The lyrics are more political, sung in Hayward's powerful growl, complementing the dynamic sounds of music tearing apart as it's being made.
The opening track, "Sleep," is a rather pretty lullaby with several layers of vocals and some interesting instrumentation that sets a gentle tone before the album diverts into "Paper Hats." This second song builds an edgy mood over the verses before exploding into a screaming cacophony. The "fast" part of this song is an amazing mess of firepowered Charles Hayward drumming and studio tape manipulations that still astounds me. The closing instrumental section references the repetition of Neu! or Can, but with the darker mood of this era of music.
Even them more conventional rock songs, like "S.P.Q.R.," are still constructed on a dramatic use of tension and release. The second half of the album begins with "Shrinkwrap," opening with the same sounds as side 1, but creating a song out of layered voices and a bumpy rhythm (perhaps a tape loop). Words jump out in a disorienting manner, and it's as edgy as the rock songs.
"Makeshift Swahili," a discussion of communication and the displacement of Native Americans, is one of This Heat's strongest songs ever. Bullen and Hayward play together to create a verse that is teetering on the brink of collapse, as Hayward holds the lyrics in a iron grip, stetching the syllables over a bed of nails. Like "Paper Hats," "Makeshift Swahili" moves into a faster, atmospheric part where they experiment more with space and sound.
"Independence" is a singing of the Declaration of Independence, though in the context of this album the words are transformed and questioned. The epic "A New Kind of Water" effectively ends the album, another incredible song that builds its movement along a series of plateaus.
There are two tracks on Deceit that are way closer to the experimental side of This Heat (which is shown more clearly on their other releases): "Radio Prague" and "Suffer Bomb Disease" (the track is actually a set of Japanese characters). Quiet, minimal musique concrete pieces, these replace the jagged rhythms with some more mysterious rumbles that are an early precursor to the Hafler Trio or later Nurse with Wound. Often overlooked, these pieces are fantastic examples of why This Heat were such ahead-of-their-time geniuses.
Released in 1994, This Heat would have been considered "post-rock" of the highest quality, but in 1981 I guess they were just pre-post-rock.
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