New stuff: This Mortal Coil // Severed Heads

[J. Peter Alfke <alfke@csvax.caltech.edu>]

Okay, campers, new vinyl time:

** This Mortal Coil: Come Here My Love / Drugs

Gosh! 10 inches of a new single by 4ADs house cover band.  "Come Here My
Love" is a Van Morrison song; I've never heard the original but I'm
quite unfamiliar with Van Morrison's work.  It's exceedingly pretty in
this arrangement, with some woman I've never heard of singing very
expressively, and Cocteau Twin Simon Raymonde providing a sort of
minimalist-industrial backdrop.  I've listened to this side a number of
times; I like it a lot.

Then the B-side is indeed the Talking Heads song "Drugs" which (when I
first saw that it was credited to D. Byrne) I figured would be ideal for
This Mortal Coil to do; in the Heads' arrangement, it's already sorta
down TMC's line.  Well, big surprise.  This is massively different,
also rather minimal, with a booming drum track and a singer who reminds
me of what's-her-name of Colourbox, some isolated guitar power-chords
here and there, and occasional synth.  In fact, the whole thing sounds a
bit like Colourbox (but not good Colourbox).  Not all that fond of it.

Still, the A-side is gorgeous and so, I should mention, is the cover and
sleeve.  The cover looks like it came from the same roll of film as that
of "It'll End In Tears", but it's been even more heavily processed into a
shroud-of-Turin look.  Overall, the packaging looks like it came from 1900
or so.  And 10-inch records are just intrinsically neat.


** Severed Heads: "Come Visit the Big Bigot"

Got this on Greg Earle's recommendation of the group (and their upcoming
live shows with labelmates Skinny Puppy); he makes them out to be the
saviors of industrial music, so I was expecting something along the lines
of "Entertainment Through Pain" or "Red Mecca"; thus, the record came out
a lot more, um, accessible than I thought it would.  What's it like? Well,
the more "bouncy" TG in places, some of it seems halfway between the old
and the new Ministry, and some quite like recent Cabaret Voltaire.  On
the whole, however, it's their own sound and I like it, particularly side
2.  Recommended for industrial types.  (So what are Skinny Puppy like,
Greg?)

						--Peter Alfke
						  alfke@csvax.caltech.edu
"We live as we dream, alone"