The Residents' Combo de Mecanico - High Horses EP
(Ralph America)
The Residents have always liked experimenting, but they've been increasing their pop sensibilities ever since they fucked up the hits of the 50's and 60's on Third Reich and Roll in 1975. In fact, for the last 15 years or so, their records have generally focused on crafting off-kilter pop (albeit quite a bit more off-kilter than most) on guitar and MIDI instruments. They hit a slump during most of the 90's, but with Wormwood: Curious Stories from the Bible and the radically different live companion Roadworms, they appeared as if they were beginning to reach a new prime in twisted pop. Yet, surprisingly, and fortunately, their new record under the Combo de Mecanico title finds them experimenting in a new way than ever before.
High Horses is an 18-minute piece in six parts that is less focused on the actual music that's involved than the production technique and concept behind it. The piece's concept involves electronic adaptations of music from street organs and other similar mechanical instruments generally used in carousels, and using them in a rotating 3D space to create the feeling of an actual, 18-minute carousel ride.
But of course, there's more to the story. It's not just any carousel ride; it's a ride on the Golden Gate Carousel, in San Francisco, in 1970... on LSD. Interested yet? Indeed, the Residents never fail to come up with immediately fascinating concepts. The disc comes with engaging packaging, featuring a fairly detailed description of the process used to create and execute the idea, as well as a little spinning wheel of factoids about LSD, the Golden Gate Carousel, and important political events from 1970.
What's on the disc is true to experimental form. The mechanical band organ music is lovely enough, but the true effect is in the way the sound is processed. Unless you just want some background carousel music—and I'm sure there are compilations featuring just that—the best way to truly listen and focus on this recording is on headphones. The sound sources are almost entirely digital MIDI, but they manage to make it sound truly 3D, constantly rotating around your head counter-clockwise. It's an impressive effect. Not only that, the music continues to grow more sinister from parts one through six, the talking passersby that you hear transform into cackling maniacs. But the LSD aspect isn't overplayed; the transformation in the music is enough.
High Horses represents something exciting and new for the Residents. Their latest pop projects were satisfying, but it's nice to see them ignoring those sensibilities, even for just a moment, and crafting an experiment that's ultimately successful and ultimately enjoyable on multiple levels. And I swear, after about 15 minutes, I always feel a little bit dizzy. Pretty damned effective if you ask me.
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