| There are some
albums and other musical epochs that, through
their innate eccentricity, retain an underlying
feeling of modernity long after their
chronological heyday. Let's hypothetically assume
for a moment that Kraftwerk originated in 2000
rather than 1970; we'll have Thrill Jockey
release their masterpiece, Autobahn, give John
McEntire engineering credits, follow it up with a
North American tour backing German brethren Mouse
on Mars and then read the new cover story in
Revolution (That hurts -- Ed.) about how this
landmark IDM group has taken the melodic
aesthetics of Autechre and fused them with the
bedroom sampling of µ-Ziq to create a sound as
magnificently simplistic as it is
groundbreakingly prescient. Daevid Allen's
University of Errors may not fall under the
electronic robot pop dichotomy, but it hails from
another genre of absurdist perspectives and
consciously spastic freak-outs -- psychedelia.
Allen, as some of you are hopefully aware, was a
founding member of both Prog/Art-Rock purveyors
Soft Machine and New York psychedelic wizards
Gong; E2 X 10 = tenure, his second album with
backing band The University of Errors (members of
San Francisco psychedelic band Mushroom),
continues along the same incomprehensible path as
previous projects.
The disc opens
with "Iced Tea Overture", which assails
the listener with a cacophonous assault of
guitars and reverb, overlaying a monotonous beat
that makes the track listenable. It would fit
well in a more melodic take on the Sonic Youth
SYR series. The first taste of melody doesn't
come until the fifth track. "Olde Guitar
Body O'Mine" is the album's high-point, into
which the band weaves a meandering three minute
guitar solo without once seeming gaudy or obtuse.
The rest of the
album progresses in a similar style: the
improvisational space-rock undertone and
disjointed lyrics fade in and out of dizzying
atonal brilliance, mortifyingly inane dirges and
plain old pretentious shit.
Whatever your
opinion of E2 X 10 = tenure, most will agree that
it falls into a genre not exactly known for its
accessibility. The fact that records exactly like
this one have been made and remade by countless
bands over the last 35 years doesn't diminish its
propensity for visionary flourishes on a par with
Soft Machine's most esoteric efforts. While the
trip from track one to track nine is a difficult
journey to make in one sitting, E2 X 10 = tenure
works actively -- even aggressively -- against
boredom and blandness. Give it time, and it will
reward you with some of the most interesting
songs of the year...though whether that year is
1967 or 2001, I'm not certain...
John Wolf
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