Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Albums of 2012 # 8: Adrian Sherwood – Survival And Resistance


I think I called this one correctly in my original review (here) ... this is an album that improves significantly with repeat listening. So much so, it became a permanent fixture on my pod during the last couple of months of the year.

I really wasn’t sure what to make of it at first. It felt strange and experimental. It didn’t feel much like the Adrian Sherwood I’ve come to know and love over the course of nearly three decades. But I should never have doubted him; Survival and Resistance will eventually reveal all of its hidden charms only if you’re prepared to listen closely enough and persevere.

I returned to it many times, and each time I did, I discovered something new, something fresh, something I hadn’t noticed previously. More often than not it was only something very small; it might be a background noise, a few bleeps, a slice of reverb, or any number of the myriad of dubby FX Sherwood specialises in. They’re always practically impossible to catch first time around. But sure enough, it’s the small things that form the greater whole, and in the end that whole amounted to a damn fine album. Indeed, testimony to the age-old adage that “thou shalt not review too soon” …

(okay, I just made that last bit up … but it nevertheless acts as a default rule very much in sync with everythingsgonegreen’s lazy arse lack of focus when it comes to brand new releases).

No doubt that Survival And Resistance was one of the more “eccentric” albums I listened to and absorbed during 2012, but ultimately, also one of the very best.

Here's a taster: U R Sound (with Timothy Leary and unknown hippy chick sharing um, vocals ...):





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