Zer0

I first came across Flying Saucer Attack on a shoegaze compilation made by Jackhammer i think a couple of years ago. Included on this compilation was a track called 'For Silence' which was unlike anything i had ever heard before. I soon decided to investigate this band for myself and i was greatly rewarded. Further is the second album released by this Bristol-based band, which features a very minimalistic duo on this album consisting of just David Pearce and Rachael Brooke and featuring no rhythm section. They utilise just guitars, found-sounds, a selection of effects (and possibly a large quantity of drugs) to paint a dense, textured and fascinating sonic landscape. The album cover is a perfect match for the music and pretty much sums up the sound on this album – eerie, abstract, atmospheric and completely out-there.

The album opens with the atmospheric droning of 'Rainstorm Blues' which features two layers of droning guitar noise overlapping each other. Towards the latter half of this instrumental track some very strange noises, resembling either heavy rain falling on some hard object or some kind of ruffling noise, appear and add a very eerie and uncomfortable feel to the track. The first vocals appear on second track 'In The Light Of Time' which continues the layered guitar droning but with some added acoustic guitar to create a more comfortable, relaxed and ambient affair. 'Come and Close My Eyes' opens with the same abstract noises which appear in the latter half of 'Rainstorm Blues' creating a similar atmosphere. The acoustic guitar plays a more prominent role in this song with added layers of electric guitar noise providing some dynamic during the choruses. There is a more conventional song structure here on this track as it follows a simple verse-chorus-verse-chorus approach which grabs the listener's attention somewhat. The droning guitar noise here builds with more and more intensity towards the ending of the song to provide a breath-taking climax. The very obvious sound of rainfall opens the fourth 'For Silence', with some delay-treated acoustic guitar and vocals creating a very psychedelic atmosphere. The song is divided into two sections separated by a brief moment of silence, with the first section of the track featuring vocals and is reletivly short. The second section once again features some acoustic guitar but with layers of effects-laden walls of guitar noise building and building with more volume and intensity to an incredible conclusion of about two and a half minutes of breath-taking guitar noise. It really is a suburb and well done piece of music.

'Still Point' combines some gentle acoustic guitar and Rachael Brooke's soft vocals with some screeching guitar droning to great effect. This is also the shortest track on the album and features a more traditional song-structure. 'Here I Am' has a slightly more downbeat mood to it, with Pearce's delay-ridden vocals appearing undeciprable just underneath the layers of abstract guitar noise. This track is a good example of how he uses his voice as another musical instrument. Like My Bloody Valentine, Flying Saucer Attack show the listener how underneath layers of droning noise you can have melody right at the core of a song. At twelve minutes and nine seconds 'To The Shore' is by far the longest track on the album. It opens with some random clanging sounds that create a very tense and uneasy atmosphere, before fading and giving way to some very hypnotic and droning guitar noise. This instrumental track sounds purely improvised with additional layers of guitar noise overlapping, building and building, and adding to the intensity of the track. This wall of noise creates a trance-inducing effect on the listener and as you listen to it you seem to lose track of time, it's like time seems to stand still. Some gentle acoustic guitar appears roughly around the halfway mark adding a more relaxed feel to the music. Towards the latter part of the track there appears to be some form of repitition appearing out from the layers guitar droning, the guitar noise soon disappears at the end of the track giving way for a nice ambient conclusion. The final track 'She Is The Daylight' features some nice melodic acoustic guitar with Pearce's delay-treated vocals at their most melodic. Gentle guitar drones are almost used like strings sections to add additional atmosphere to the song. The perfect way to conclude this incredible album.

As regards lyrics, well the lyrics on this album are just as relevent as the lyrics on My Bloody Valentine's Loveless. David and Rachael could be singing about washing detergent for all we know, and even during parts where we can make out the lyrics they don't seem to make much sense. But the lyrics are not the focal point on this album, the vocals are mearly another layer to add to the incredibly atmospheric wall of sound that this album features. This album is an excellent example of the use of the human voice as another musical instrument and what moods, feelings and textures can be achieved with it. A great way to enjoy this album is to sit in a pitch-black room like a ****ing wierdo and just lose yourself in the music, feeling every tone and texture. It's an album is well worth investigating if you want to reach further into your mind and escape this world for it's duration.

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