Analogue - Rock Proper
(Rubric)
So many post-rock bands give you either the rice or the water. Analogue
actually goes to the trouble of putting the rice in a pot, adding the water,
and cooking the grains until they are tender and fluffy. The grains here
are long, tough, hard shards of classic rock-inspired post-rock guitar and bass
wizardry, and the stock is a simple reduction of ambient sounds and melodies
from keyboard, xylophone, and effects gear. The sound the combination of these
two elements creates is rich and powerful... not totally unlike anything you've
ever heard before but unlike any one thing you've ever heard.
Rock Proper is the second album from Analogue and shows much maturation
from their debut while still clearly being from the same band. The band's
sense of humor that was all over the first album is less overt now as there
are no field recordings of someone struggling to start a chainsaw or directions
on how to manipulate a turntable to play the second half of a song. Instead,
the band has dedicated themselves to, as the title states, attempting to "rock
proper," that is, to create a rock sound that is so visceral and true that it
harkens back to the music's classic rock roots when music could reach both
body and soul.
To aid in achieving this, the band took the risky but ultimately successful
steps of totally removing vocals from their repertoire while significantly
increasing the use of keyboards and keyboard effects ("the stock," natch).
The resulting sound easily dismisses any Slint or Slint meets Superchunk
comparisons that were tagged on their earlier work. With this sound, Analogue
has found a territory all their own--it is upbeat and pop-like in sound,
but it is made from pure, tough rock and roll guitar, bass, and drums.
Their use of two basses may put them in the territory of Tortoise or even
Dianogah, but the guitar here is alway in or near the forefront, taking
the band into territories those acts never reach. Their use of keyboards atop
post-rock may link their sound to the last three or four works by Stereolab,
but these are not French or faux-French chanteuses singing mindless gibber
over dry, cold melodies; if anything Analogue are the exact opposite, as their
dish is always served perfectly warmed.
While each song on this album is unique and uniquely wonderful, they all have
a similar make-up. The keyboards and effects create an ambient atmosphere
that surrounds the other instruments. The guitar, bass, and drums play
strong post-rock progressions that pound through this hazy cloud, each
note carrying with it a waft of the keyboard undercurrent. Naturally, with
their great use of ambience in this undercurrent, while Analogue is
tremendous at writing rock/post-rock songs, they are also quite good at
manufacturing sounds--take for instance the pitchshifting keyboard sounds
that erupt out of the silent repetition of "Life at Big Bri's Haus."
While keyboards are a constant companion to the guitar, basses, and drums in a
supplemental role, several songs also use them for added melody and to add to
the melody, these songs sounding resolutely pop but still inline with
the rest of the album. This similar make-up of the songs gives the album a
tremendous flow, some songs merging together as if they were the same
composition, which makes its 39 minutes seem to last a small fraction of
that time.
While I am afraid that my adoration of this album above puts me too close to
the comic, over the top mock bio in its liner notes, Rock Proper is by far the
most enjoyable listen of 2000... which makes it so unfortunate that label
troubles have kept this material on the shelf for three long years.
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