Füxa - The Modified Mechanics of This Device
(Antenna)
Over the last couple years, Randall Neimann has seemingly tried very hard to
wreck the good track record of Füxa's
discography. With the band becoming essentially a solo project, the
releases have been getting spotty (and keep in
mind they were already inconsistent due to the requisite bongo jam). Füxa
2000, the split with Ectogram, and the collaboration
with Add (N) to X, all seemed to mark the end of a great band. To me it
seemed that the slick ("better") production and
lack of Ryan Anderson's basslines just left the songs limp and dull.
Considering this trend, it seems silly that I would actually be excited
about the release of two new Füxa albums within a
couple weeks of each other (or maybe that just shows how much I loved the
old albums), but I am. The slick sound is still
there, and Ryan's basslines are still absent (with a couple of small
exceptions), but both albums manage to reach for and
nearly attain that blissful Füxa sound of '97.
Supercharged is a slightly more guitar oriented album, while The Modified
Mechanics of this Device leans more toward the
synth-fuckery side of things. The guitar songs have always been my favorite
side of Füxa, and on top of that, I think that
in some ways the experimenting has gone a bit awry, making Supercharged
the better album, but Modified Mechanics of this Device does
have the better songs (among the worse).
Supercharged has a song (oddly enough, titled "Supercharged"), that was
included on the recent 2xCD Rocket Girl
compilation. This song single handedly revitalized my faith in future Füxa
albums. It easily holds its own against the
best Füxa songs ("Dreamlanding," "Standing Under U," "Sky High," etc), and for me,
centers the album. Also notable is the opening
track, "Hideaway," which has some very nice singing by Stephen Lawrie and Jo
Doran of The Telescopes (who used to be on
Creation and have recently reformed). The collaboration of Randall with
these guys is nice to hear since the Detroit
spacerock scene (Auburn Lull, Windy & Carl, Füxa, well, essentially the
entire Burnt Hair catalog) is such an obvious
progression of that whole shoegazer thing. The repetitive keyboard melody
played over a slowly circular chord progression
on "It Was You" shows a new side of songwriting for Randall, with great
effect. The album ends with 3 songs that recall
the old days of Füxa so well that I wonder if Randall actually can do Füxa
just as well without Ryan Anderson.
The Modified Mechanics of This Device is a little iffy. 7 of the album's
14 tracks have been previously released
(although some are in slightly different form). It starts with a radio edit
of "Girl" which was recently released
on a 7" with "Hideaway" (which is on Supercharged). I don't know if they
re-mixed or re-mastered this (obviously it was
edited in some way), but the version from Füxa 2000 just fell flat on it's
face to me, whereas this time I love it. Sonic
Boom sings and plays some synth on this (it's a Suicide cover no less),
which, of course, is great. The next four tracks are
aimless, wandering across various synths and found sounds. A few are nice
("Bowie Beat," "Sitar/Tone," and "Opel"), while the
other, "Kids Toy," is just annoying. The original version of "Bzzz
[extended mix]" was on In Flight Audio. It was
a nice enough song, but I don't really see why Randall chose to extend it
and release it again. But, once again, it's nice,
but nothing all that notable. "Willow Run," "Sky High," "3rd Abductions,"
and "What if a Taxpayer Died?" were all previously
available on various releases. After these, we have 4 tracks of loops,
noises, and bleeps that don't do much to please, and
only a little to attract attention (mostly things that make me wonder why
they were recorded). Anyway, I'd trade the awful
bongo jams that plagued early Füxa for these forgettable tracks any day.
Supercharged stands up against the best of Füxa's output, and Modified
Mechanics of this Device falls a little short, while still
offering some of Füxa's best (though already released) material. It's nice
to have Füxa back again. Maybe there'll be
more 7"s released too? I doubt it, but at least Randall's releasing a lot
of good songs again.
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