Consumer Electronics

[cr]

Any thoughts about new Consumer Electronics - Surge CD?
Had high hopes, but well, I don't know...maybe it's just not for my tastes and what I like.

[Kayandah]

I listened to it a couple of times but was underwhelmed apart from the longer track at the end. Can't really bring myself to be bothered to give it another listen

[FreakAnimalFinland]

I know "computer noise" is pretty lazy description, since it could mean almost anything... but when you hear the overall sound, and there is this (probably very intentional) sterility and clarity in production and sounds of many of the tracks. It is not easy to like. It is like half way through the album, when Dirt and Dust starts, when album makers turn to better.After that Side Blaster gets a bit darker in production. Little dance music on the way, but ending with noisier and darker title track is pretty neat! While I was thinking label info saying this should be considered the definitive CE album, I was a bit skeptic, but really it could be the best CE after all? Of course, one simply can't compare it to 80's CE, so I am talking of later albums. However, I must say that I don't have Airless Space, but songs that I know from album are so much more beat oriented and with softer sounds new album certainly feels better. I don't have physical version of it yet, though.

Consumer Electronics return with "Surge" — a brand new album containing 7 tracks and with a run-time of 42 minutes. The duo of Philip Best and album producer Russell Haswell deliver a hallucinatory vision of the world — as it appears in 2024 e.v. Noticeably noisier and more aggressive than previous releases, CE dive even further into the chaos of sonic manipulation and mind-bending frequencies. Best's lyrics are among his most demented yet, written in the shadow of intimate distress, global conflict, and resigned disintegration. For his part, Haswell conjures crunching landscapes of sound and fiery rhythmic propulsions. The pair use state of the art technology allied with cracked and fractured primitive electronics. Exquisitely crafted to give the listener a disquieting look into the abyss. "I want to tell you / in this music / you hear / the sound / of plane after plane / taking off / amphetamine surge / Mahler's pain / Wagner's decline / what good are expectations? / what good are explanations? / get up / get up / children / it's time." Featuring a guest appearance by long time cohort Gary Mundy of RAMLEH, this should be considered the definitive CE album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUbT2dureeI

[loudbugling]

I know "computer noise" is pretty lazy description, since it could mean almost anything... but when you hear the overall sound, and there is this (probably very intentional) sterility and clarity in production and sounds of many of the tracks. It is not easy to like. It is like half way through the album, when Dirt and Dust starts, when album makers turn to better.After that Side Blaster gets a bit darker in production. Little dance music on the way, but ending with noisier and darker title track is pretty neat! While I was thinking label info saying this should be considered the definitive CE album, I was a bit skeptic, but really it could be the best CE after all? Of course, one simply can't compare it to 80's CE, so I am talking of later albums. However, I must say that I don't have Airless Space, but songs that I know from album are so much more beat oriented and with softer sounds new album certainly feels better. I don't have physical version of it yet, though

It's certainly their strongest release since Sarah became a "key" member: Estuary English was patchy yet enjoyable enough overall, but the two albums preceding this did next to nothing for me. I'm a staunch enjoyer of Best's lyricism and delivery, so I suppose that will always be an attractive staple in their work, irrespective of the music. Interestingly, Sarah seems entirely absent on this release...

It's certainly something of a return to form, but for me, Crowd Pleaser will always be the "definitive" CE release, and certainly their most focused and cohesive.

[Kaaoskultti]

Still have to listen to his new release, goddamnit. Anyway, speaking of modern CE, I think Estuary English would be the closest to its music manifesting the core of the music therein, specially because of its more minimalistic approach, in comparison to later releases. Maybe it could be described as Best stripped to the core, with short, but poignant songs fuelled by the author's acid irony and sheer wit. Lyrically, Best and Bennett created a dark literature of their own. Dollhouse Songs, on the other hand could also fit in the afromentioned category, but with separate vocals, whose delivery I vastly prefer over the mixage of the two voices, and really awesome Digital Electronic Earape beneath their shouts, incitements, and orders alike. Personally, I like both, but I still have to get my hands on the new release.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

I am not following so closely other people's lives, but I recall being told there was some "drama" and in discogs Sarah is crossed out from current members, probably not in the band anymore.
Crowd Pleaser is neat, but it still was almost like "could have been Whitehouse", while old stuff and new stuff has more of CE's own feel to it.

[Birthdeath]

I am not following so closely other people's lives, but I recall being told there was some "drama" and in discogs Sarah is crossed out from current members, probably not in the band anymore.
Crowd Pleaser is neat, but it still was almost like "could have been Whitehouse", while old stuff and new stuff has more of CE's own feel to it.

Yeah they broke up over a year ago.

[absurdexposition]

I don't have Airless Space, but songs that I know from album are so much more beat oriented and with softer sounds

Airless Space was one of my favourite albums of 2019. The main "beats" on the album I can think of are more like a metronome rather than anything dance-oriented. "Carnage Mechanics" contains some of Best's best lyrics.


I feel like Surge is less dynamic than Airless Space, which likely serves a purpose alongside the sterility that Mikko mentioned, but I've only listened two or three times since release and it seems like more of a slow burner.