Various Artists - Brain in the Wire
(Brainwashed)
Consider yourself warned. This strictly limited edition, three disc
collection commemorating the Brainwashed web collective is going quickly.
If you know Brainwashed already, than you have a duty to obtain this
collection, and you should already know how good it is. If you do not
know Brainwashed, than you owe it to yourself to discover what you have
missed by obtaining this essential collection of Brainwashed artists.
This collection has been in the works for quite some time, so I had
developed a pretty good level of anticipation. I was not, however,
prepared for just how good it is. The level of quality of these artists
is unsurpassed by any other collection that I have heard. This is
probably because most compilations have a couple of songs that are worth
hearing, and then the rest is just filler. With Brain in the Wire,
because each contributor is compelling and unique, the result is greater
than the sum of its parts.
In this post-everything period of music, it's a good thing to have a
collection of music that reflects the diversity and disparity of what
people like to hear. Brain in the Wire mixes the ominous rhythms
and violins of the Legendary Pink Dot's "Old Sparky," with the
transcendent lilt of Fridge's "Harmonics." The fractured, stripped down
glitch dub of M2's "I-tuo" is followed by the delicate, acoustic
folk-drone of Jessica Bailiff. Or, to flip it around, Stars of the Lid's
"Requiem for Dying Mothers," creates a reflective, subdued space, which is
cracked open by Diamanda Galas' aching and fierce "Birds of Death."
On the more "difficult" end of the spectrum, there is V/VM, whose
contribution is a lot like random static, and Thighpaulsandra's "Heaven
Lies About Us in Our Infamy," whose origin and form is nearly
incomprehensible.
But for every experiment, you get solid, straightforward pop music, like
the live version of Bedhead's "Powder," or Ruby Falls' "The Brave Ones."
But, best of all, you get stuff like Christopher Heeman and Andreas
Martin's "Wires," which mixes up tricky Gastr Del Sol-esque guitar
interplay, with loops and synths to create unobvious beauty. Or the Nurse
With Wound/Aranos collaboration, "Mary Jane," which combines Stephen
Stapleton's bizarre sonic sculptures with Aranos' melancholy old-world
violin. These tracks are every bit as progressive as they are engaging.
I could go on and on about each song that I love, but you get the idea.
If this collection has a fault it is that it is a bit schizophrenic as it
jumps from one style to the next. And maybe a bit too much dub. And Coil
is conspicuously absent (perhaps they'll show up on the super secret 3rd
disc, whose contents have yet to be disclosed). But, hey, who's
complaining? So, get to Brainwashed now and order you copy
before it's too late, or risk being a sucker.
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