Phew - S/T (1981) [SAA Album Club discussion thread]
 

Phew - S/T (1981)

We listened to this album last week as the first choice from the Strategies Against Architecture Album Club.

Here's how Urban Hatemonger introduced it:
So let's dissect it! :D

I thought this was a really interesting album! The most impressive thing about it to me was how out of time it seems. If I didn't already know I doubt I'd be able to guess what year it was released. Though I didn't enjoy every single track (I could do without "Dream" for example) I certainly enjoyed the majority of them. "Signal" and "Mapping" in particular were standout tracks for me. There was also a certain extent to which this album reminded me of Darkest Day's Exterminating Angel. Not sure if any of you are familiar with that one but it's another album I had considered nominating in this thread.

This album reminds of Tin Drum by Japan. Here are some parallels:


*They were both released in 1981.

*S/T is sung in Japanese (I speak Japanese, very poorly considering how long I lived there, and could pick some words here and there, my listening comprehension is worse than my speaking) and the other band is named Japan.

* They have a similar quirky sound, imo.

* The author of the great novel, The Tin Drum, Gunter Grass, lived in Germany. Can is obviously Krautrock.


OK enough of that. If you like this, you may go in for another Japanese band, the more guitar driven female psychedelic Angel In Heacy Syrup. I would guess Ange In's vocals were influenced by Phew.

ANGEL IN HEAVY SYRUP on Myspace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

Now about this record specifically, I'm sure this is music that could continue growing on you for years but that's not to say that I don't have a favorable initial impression. I defintely do. My favorite track on the album is Dream with the spare piano and spacey sound effects. This alone probably puts it into a higher leaque than the other stuff I've mentioned. And just by virtue of the fact that the guys from Can are involved demands serious respect, obviously. This music might actually be a little too tonal for me to consider really avant garde, if that matters. As my Japan, comparison suggests, it feels more new age than no wave. But time can be tricky when looking back 30 years. And sorry if my comments are a bit non sequitur, but on to the texture of this music. I love it. The backgrounds are super cool and the weird Japanese vocals on top of it have a cool disconnected ambiance that throws the listener off but intrigues and pleases as well. All in all, I think this was a great recommendation and I am glad I learned about this music.

Great write up OccultHawk! It's pretty funny that my least favorite song on the album was your favorite. :laughing:

How long did you live in Japan?

Thank you.

Yeah, that made me smile, too. I think you may have embraced the more abrasive aspects of the record whereas I went in more for the ethereal side. I taught English in various parts of Japan for almost a decade and never advanced past the very basic with the language. Enough to get drunk and then get home, and occasionally, actually rarely, enough to get a drunk woman to join me.

I personally didn't mind the album, but didn't love it. I felt it was a tad bit too poppy for me. Lots of vocals, and it seemed a lot of the instrumental bits faded into the background. I do like the fact that every song seemingly used an entirely new pallete., and there was a lot of experimentation with electronics. That was good. Vocals weren't bad either.

Just, I don't know, doesn't feel all that experimental to me, to be honest. Despite the eclecticism, It's very very tame, and poppy for my tastes, I guess.

'Signal' is definitely my favorite too. You mean Dark Day 'Exterminating Angel' - yeah I looove that one. For me, minimal synth doesn't get much better than it is on that album. If you nominate it, it'd be another album connected in some way to No Wave, 'cause the guy is ex-DNA member. Interesting...

Hey, I heard of that band. I have one or two songs on some compilation about Subterranean Records from San Francisco. Hmmm...Anyway, interesting connection to Tin Drum, like six degrees of separation :)

I'll write about Phew a bit later.

Oop. Yeah, I meant "Dark Day" not "Darkest Day". Pretty good stuff.

i have to say i absolutely loved this album....every track is as interesting as the next one....i love her voice and the simplistic and often strangely eire electronics....i love both 'Doze' and 'P-Adic'...which i am damn near 98% sure Coil samples on Horse Rotovator

I sort of agree with two people. I agree with Janszoon that it's difficult to name the year, but I also agree with Skaligojurah about the album just being okay and sort of poppy. I definitely find the album an interesting listen, but I don't love it. I do, however, think Fragment to be a GREAT track. I love the pulsing percussion (beeping?) in the background mixed with a very oriental-sounding vocals. Not to mention the avant-garde violin towards the middle of the song (but I'm a sucker when it comes to the violin). P-Acid is a neat track, too. It has a very huanting, psychedelic/industrial sound to it.

EDIT: I am also happy that Can helped with this album. Can is a great band (surprised none of their albums were suggested for this club).

Eh, there's a lot to suggest/cover. I have two albums in mind just behind the one I suggested to suggest when needed. So many great albums of this genre, and so little time!

i actually enjoyed the bit of "poppieness" on this album....i think it worked very well with her vocals

Yes, but it undercut the experimentation. Just well too straight forward.

Oh, that second track... Just the perfect amalgamation of what this combination of styles was possible of. Can's addition to the overall flavor is clearly in rhythm, which propels this album forward in even its most boring moments (though when there is no real rhythmic backbone, the song's sometimes do falter). The quirkiness of the singer is not in the obnoxious white-2000's-indie "LET'S WRITE LYRICS ABOUT CATS AND HOW THEY'RE SUPERHEROES!" way, but in the unrefined, interesting, thought-provoking way. Perhaps it grates over a long period of time, but spinning a few tracks a time will likely reward me a lot in the future. Clearly, the songwriting would lose a lot of its punch without the rhythm or the electronic parts, but the poppiness is typically enough to keep you interested while you wait for the next banger.

Good album, the beginning of what is hopefully a string of ass-kicking efforts from this little group.

This wasn't my first listening to Phew as I've already heard this album several times before. I still remember when after I had just joined this forum I stumbled upon one Urban's post recommending this album. His description really intrigued me so I had to check it out. Let me see: post-punk era, quirky vocals, kraut-rock motorik beats brought by the members of Can, no wave sensibility, off kilter electronic sounds, minimalism - there was no way in hell I wouldn't love this. And every time I hear it, it holds up to my initial reaction. Nine songs and about 35 min long, this album just flies so easily. What I like the most about it is that it has a certain pop directness on the outside, a simplicity on the surface, but when you sink in, it reveals many layers and a great feeling for the aesthetic of minimalism and its sound collage.

This is evident on pretty much every song and one other great quality of this album is that it sounds as an organic whole. Although the songs don't sound uniform and similar to each other, they still maintain the same overall spirit. They are infused with a certain quirkiness and playfulness even in the darkest and out there moments. This is something that prevents it from being self-serious and is another reason why this album may feel poppy to some people. But I consider this to be a good thing.

From the opening song you've been hit by this eccentric, out of tune voice singing in Japanese, but might as well be singing in some made up language. That's how I see the role of her voice here, like one of the many sound pieces that all have their place in the mosaic. Well, she sometimes approaches the almost pop melody, but it's always with a hint of falling apart.

The strongest song for me is 'Signal' and her singing here is the most energetic, almost with a punk directness. Well, it's no coincidence this song is my favorite. It starts with a deep, hollow guitar tone reminiscent of some New York No Wave bands particularly Glenn Branca's Theoretical Girls and early Sonic Youth sound a bit later. It's a simple sound which when repeated every time goes a bit deeper on the scale and back, thus creating an incredible tension. Underneath is a complex kraut rock rhythmic repetition with some interesting electronic touches. This song is a perfect blend of kraut rock motorik feel and no wave schizophrenic intensity.

I must say I didn't find any weak songs here and beside 'Signal' it's hard for me to choose favorites. But, if I have to I will single out 'Doze' with its mysterious flute-like melody, electro background and a lonely guitar riff that occasionally emerges. Her voice here is especially out of tune trying to catch the melody. Excellent! 'Mapping' is another great one. Her singing here sounds like counting and I especially love those distant, almost industrial heavy strokes. Hypnotic bass line and a sudden appearance of a wind instrument (saxophone maybe) reminded me of Tuxedomoon for a moment. Despite this straightforward bass line and her 'counting', the whole song feels like it's on a verge of breaking into pieces. Brilliant! 'P-Adic' is incredibly catchy and the closest this album comes to (electro) pop. 'Aqua' is also very good with electro impulses that sound like they belong in some sci-fi movie; distant background voice, child-like melody. This song looks repetitive, but it's actually always changing underneath, a perfect example of sound collage in the song form. 'Closed' and its variant 'Circuit' round this album nicely.

Oh well, this turned out much longer than I expected (I got carried away). In one word: Brilliant!

I also found Signal to be the winning track. All of my favorites are the late-70s dark synthpop-sounding ones (Signal, P-Adic, Closed). I also really like Mapping which is maybe the most interesting song as far as 'Avant Garde/Experimental'.

The more minimal songs like Circuit, Doze, and Aqua were kind of hard for me to get into since I was in the mood for 70s synthpop after the first part of the album (I did listen to thing multiple times, btw). I had to put myself into the mindset of listening to unfamiliar, um .. 'world music' I guess, in order to deal with the vocals on these. Although Doze has some great synth.

I think Dream is the clear loser. I don't really like the song much at all. The piano, voice, and twangy guitar just don't sound good together to me.

Overall, I think this is a good album. Thanks Urban.

Totally. While I think the rest of the album sounds like a great version of weird music, that one song sounds like a lame version of normal music.

Ha...you might be on to something. I've just noticed I didn't even mention it in my post. Well, I don't think it's a bad song, it actually holds better when you listen to it individually, outside of the album. But, within the whole it feels like a miniature and a kind of a resting place between all those other more interesting songs. And it actually is somewhere in the middle of the album.

Oh no! Now it's two against one!

I didn't think "Dream" was that bad... I saw a little merit in it.

I thought it was just as good as every other track (bar "Signal" which we've already pointed out is ace), albeit just in a completely different medium. Works well in the context of the album, which is the only way I really listen to albums these days.

The top three tracks from the album, for me, were Fragment, Mapping, and P-Adic, in that order.

I wasn't really prepared for Japanese vocals at all, so I was none too thrilled originally. But it's not the first time. And they grew on me...

Here's one cool thing you may or may not notice. Track 1 is called Closed and the last track is called Circuit.

Play Circuit, and then Closed, and you'll hear why. You may have figured out, the first track picks up right where the last track ends. Closed Circuit.

The vocals on Signal... well ... remind me of Primus' My Name Is Mud. Especially since Les Claypool redid it in Spanish for his South American tour. It flows in the same manner, I feel.

Dream, Doze, and Aqua were my least favorite pieces, but I feel like Aqua has redeeming qualities I'm just still missing.

Overall I'm pretty pleased with this album in that my first impression was ... the opposite.
I could listen to it again...

i found Doze to be one of the more interesting track....and although i did enjoy Dream....i can see all of your points

I stumbled upon this album about a year ago when I was in the midst of a "download everything related to Can" frenzy. It's pretty great. Signal was on heavy rotation for a long while.

As somebody who adores Can, are you guys sure you're not over-exaggerating this album a little due to their involvement?

^Well, in my case no. I have a soft spot for pretty much everything that has anything to do with post-punk, no wave and minimal synth. Kraut-rock aspect is just a bonus.

Oh yeah, definitely! I did mention in my post that these two round the album nicely :)

Not at all. I think some of Can's work is awful, namely their later stuff. But they do bring something to this album. Ultimately, though, you have to judge every individual album on it's own merits - and this one is great in my opinion.

From what I've seen from other places, more people seem to arbitrarily dislike this album because of Can's involvement than arbitrarily praise it. Something about their krautrock heroes getting involved elsewhere doesn't sit well with them.

Sure, Can is one of my favorite krautrock acts, but just because they bring their greatness here, doesn't mean I feel swayed to award them bonus points on things other than the actual merit of the songs.

As someone who is a lot less krautrock savvy than others here, I don't even really listen to Can so .. no, Can has nothing to do with any of my comments.

Hmmm... I can't figure out what you're all seeing in this. It's not bad, I still don't get anything particular in it. Ah well, maybe next one.

Pardon me if this has already been pointed out but Phew's CD Five Finger Discount is Wire's number 32 for 2010.

Her latest album Five Finger Discount (with quite different musical direction though) is flawless.

Does anyone know where can one learn some news about Phew?
I hope she stays active musically because whatever she has done is really eclectic.