Track Listing
1. China Gate
2. Sakhalin
3. Nepenthe
4. Doldrums
5. James Coburn
6. Virgin Among Cannibals
7. His Teeth Got Lost in the Mattress...
8. Hemispheric Events Command
9. Fourth Eye, The
10. Colomber, The
11. China Gate - (reprise)
12. Utopia Pkwy.
| Details | | Playing Time: | 64 min. | | Producer: | Cul De Sac, Jon Williams | | Distributor: | Ryko Distribution | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
Cul De Sac: Glenn Jones (vocals, guitar); Robin Amos (vocals, synthesizer, electronics); Chris Fujiwara (vocals, bass); Jon Proudman (vocals, drums).
Engineers: Bill Salkin, Walter Stickle, Jon Williams.
Recorded at Rainfarm Studios, North Reading, Massachusetts in August 1995.
This 1996 release is the true follow-up to Cul de Sac's remarkable debut, ECIM (the interim I DON'T WANT TO GO TO BED was a fascinating self-recorded sidebar, though it was culled and edited from past band improvisations). Cul de Sac chose to open this album in a surprising way for an instrumental band--with an acapella group vocal on the Adamson-Young chestnut, "China Gate." From there, the band members dive headlong into the gorgeous and evocative compositions of guitarist Glenn Jones. Sounding like a mix of John Fahey (their next album, THE EPIPHANY OF GLENN JONES, was a collaboration with Fahey) and the German band Can, the pieces utilize an approach of gradual unfolding, as the music builds to climaxes constructed of variations on the central themes. This was Cul de Sac's first recording with drummer Jon Proudman, who brings a lighter, jazzier feel to the music. The production work of Jon Williams is also a key reason for this album's success.
Editorial Reviews
Ranked #50 on Melody Maker's list of 1996's `Albums Of The Year.'
Melody Maker
...Cul De Sac creates instrumental topographies that at turns soothing, grating, meandering, intense, organic, electronic, new age, space age, chaotic and controlled....the band's transitions between styles are amazingly smooth...
Option (09/01/1996)
5 - Supreme - ...can conjure...autobahns and tsunamis, spaghetti westerns and spy flicks...
Alternative Press (06/01/1996)
3 Stars - Good - ...Cul de Sac manage to reconcile the visceral locomotion of '60s garage rock with the futuristic drone of...cheap analog synthesizers....[They] maintain a devotion to the groove, which guarantees a shot of rhythmic comfort to help those sonic challenges go down.
Rolling Stone (06/27/1996)
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