Title: Compass
Artist: Assemblage 23
Genre: Electronic
Release Date: 23rd October 2009
Label: Accession Records
Album Review
With the single ‘Spark’, Tom Shear aka ASSEMBLAGE 23 already has released a strong harbinger. But would the album prove at least equally strong to that track? I was very curious to find out and in the following lines you can read if the album met with the admittedly high expectations I had for the seventh ASSEBLAGE 23 album ‘Compass’.
The ‘Compass’ starts rotating with the song ‘Smoke’ which is a quite typical ASSEMBLAGE 23 track with a state of the art production , straight and danceable rhythms, and it’s carrying soft melancholy within its heart. Within the next track ‘Collapse’ I can hardly hear out any melancholy, it’s more like a certain bitterness that’s floating within the words and arrangement. While we’re at it, the song is quite the opposite of the album opener having this gritty vibe. Besides that, it’s recalling older days of electronic sound synthesis with old-school drum patterns, melded with a lot of details which you will need to discover first, and that will take quite a few listens believe me. With ‘How Can You Sleep’ follows a balladry track coming up with chiming, sparkling melodies wrapped inside sustained sonic carpets. ‘Leave This All Behind’ fills the mind of a listener with reflective thoughts and pure longing through sublime synth layers that are like an extension of your thoughts reaching out into the distance.
Besides that, you can feel the track’s building up slowly adding more and more sounds. It’s like it’s gathering strength for one final strike that eventually comes with the chorus. ‘Alive’ remains at a stately pace while melodic swells of synths wash up on a distant shore where a man is standing, giving us a poetic insight of his inner world, his innermost thoughts and feelings. I said that already in another review but here it’s getting once more extremely obvious how well-spoken Shear is. ‘Greed’ already suggests this won’t become some kind of fluffy, cosy tune. Instead, hard-edged synth constructions coupled with ominous atmospheres and distorted vocals welcome the listener. When reaching the chorus, the darkened skies clear up a bit with lighter melodies contrasting the hard rhythms. Buyers of the limited edition will have a second CD comprising 5 additional tracks. It opens with a more experimental down-tempo take of the preceding single ‘Spark’. Apart from another remix, the disc also offers a couple new, very strong tracks.
’Alone again’ for instance literally glides away on a foundation of smooth, trickling micro beats while lonely melodies pour down from cloudy skies. The melodies in ‘Chosen’, however, are sinister from their very core. The lyrics of that track from my point of view accurately describe the mindset many powerful people - let’s take politicians as an example here - seem to have of the normal people. “Your opinion is not needed”. Well, already in the review to ‘Spark’ I assumed that this album might become a masterpiece if the material is as strong as the mentioned track, and it is. It has diversity in abundance, brings in new elements but also recalls the trademarks. I wasn’t always a fan of what Tom Shear has produced but this one is definitely a highlight in late 2009 for me.
Tracklist
01. Smoke
02. Collapse
03. Impermanence
04. How Can You Sleep
05. Spark
06. Leave This All Behind
07. Alive
08. Greed
09. Angels & Demons
10. The Cruelest Year
Bonus CD (Limited Edition only)
01. Spark [Burikusu RMX]
02. Grind
03. Alone Again
04. Chosen
05. Greed [KMFDM RMX]
Line-up
Tom Shear - All Music & Production, Vocals, Lyrics
Website
http://www.assemblage23.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/officialassemblage23
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 9
Extras: 8 (Bonus CD)
Total: 8.7 / 10
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