If English is your first language and you could translate my old Italian text, please contact me.
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Soul-Junk e` il progetto di Glen "Galaxy" Galloway, ex bassista dei
Trumans Water, convertito al Cristianesimo.
Con 1950 (Shrimper, 1993 - Holy Kiss, 1994) Galloway ha iniziato una
serie di album dedicati a temi religiosi e registrati a casa in tutta umilta`.
Lo stile, nel piu` autentico spirito "lo-fi", comprende tutto cio` che puo`
essere suonato con strumenti economici, con una predilezione particolare per
il free-jazz per sassofono e organo (The Lord's Saxophone).
Dopo due singoli, e` uscito 1951 (Shrimper, 1994),
prodigo di alleluia altrettanto gioiosi per sassofono, organo e batteria.
Peace Peace Peace e Soul Junk Theme sono anzi quasi professionali.
Decisamente piu` rock il successivo 1952 (Homestead, 1995),
opera ambiziosa
divisa fra CD (trentun brani, o tentativi di brani) e vinile (sedici brani).
L'operazione assomiglia sempre piu` ai classici dell'amatorialita`, agli
album-calderone degli Half Japanese e ai nastri casalinghi di Sebadoh.
Questo e` il primo disco a vantare una vera formazione, ma il sound e` rimasto
ultraprimitivo, e le liriche sono quasi tutte tratte dalla Bibbia e inneggiano
a Gesu`. Il difetto principale e` la dispersione: si passa con disinvoltura
dal punk-rock al free-jazz, da una filastrocca folk (Sweet To My Soul)
a un blues delle piantagioni (In Your Sanctuary), dal garage-rock di
Kingdom's Fruit al musichall demenziale di Cold-Coct The Coroner, dal pop
puerile di Like The Sunrise, Ape The Rich, Apocalypso e Goose-Eggs
agli strumentali dissonanti In Their Sea Thru Raincoats e Slo-Jam In The
Endzone. Le uniche cose che assomiglino a inni religiosi sono Hi-Priest e
Zion. Un disco piu` grande di chi l'ha fatto.
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(Clicka qua per la versione Italiana)
1953 (Homestead, 1996) is even too eccentric and eclectic.
The christian rap of Junca De Sol Andromeda and Graveyard Style
is intriguing for a few minutes,
but too many tracks are trivial exaggerations of alternative rock cliche`
(the punk-rock of Quite Alright Rockers,
the angular pop of Poker Of The Eye)
and too many sound like the same sarcastic sermon that he's been singing for
years (Young Businessmen Psychik Makeout, Wax Presidential).
Galloway's christianity does get on the listener's nerves very early in the
album. As a matter of fact,
Galloway's genius is better on display in the surreal instrumental vignettes of
Atonal Eternal and Three Thousand Thirsty Thoughts, that rival
Pere Ubu's instrumentals. Unfortunately, the price to pay is the rest of
the record.
What is usually a bonus track materializes here as a full-fledged 42-minutes
"bonus record". Surprisingly (well, unsurprisingly, given the quality of
the main record), the bonus tracks fare well, especially
Put Wings On Things and I Blame You Stallion that could easily
rank among his best.
1955 (Jackson, 1999) is an even more pretentious collection of
hip hop. dub, reggae.
While still tinkering with the ruins of hip hop and drum'n'bass,
1956 (5 Minute Walk, 2000)
may signal a re-discovery of the traditional song format by Galaxy,
less cacophonous and free-form, and more keen on borrowing "ambience" from
modern dance styles.
Unfortunately Galaxy keeps diluting his best material over several albums,
wasting the opportunity to produce one great album.
1957 (Sounds Are Active, 2002) and the EP 1938 (SDRecords, 2002)
overflow with eccentric and powerful ideas, but also contain an amazing
amount of filler (particularly the latter).
The album is less cohesive than previous ones and relies on the occasional
well-formed paradox to succeed:
Non-Linear, Horse Posing as Unicorn,
Ungst Func Slag Collision, Innerspacemen, Vesuvius.
Galaxy keeps displaying a talent for more conventional formats,
whether dreamy trip-hop balladry (Jelly Wings) or
the vernacular of roots-rock (Ruby Doomsday).
Galloway seems to be getting more chaotic and dissonant as he gets older.
1958 (Sounds, 2003) is his most incohesive and anarchic work yet,
surveying the entire spectrum of musical genres and dispensing of regular
rhythm as if it were a distraction.
Quiver Society (2007) opened a new project: singing the whole Bible,
starting with the first 23 psalms.
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