Attrition

Condensing 25 years of songs, experiences, and history into one 70-minute CD can't be easy, but Martin Bowes has done so in this wonderful package, complete with plenty of lovely artwork and an informative booklet. ATTRITION have always been kinda hit-or-miss with me, but this career summation is the perfect document of their finer work through the years. From the neo-classicism of the opening 'Prelude' to the kitschier 80s-electro-industrial / anti-consumerist rant of 'Shrinkwrap', ATTRITION have always balanced their overt dark edges with an outsider popsong stance. Bowes' gutteral vocals and Julia Waller's brighter, dramatic voice are a unique and recognizable counterpoint and a trademark of sorts. More recent work, like 'Two Gods', maintains a certain elegance and magical intensity in its' minimalist execution and subdued demeanor. If you need one quintessential Attrition, this is easily, far and above, the only choice.

One of the best Attrition compilations ever, taking its title, I assume, from the idea of The Afterlife from Eastern Religion (Buddhist) and the "Realm Of The Hungry Ghosts" (clever and appropriate usage of a title).

From the opening, "Vigil," with its stark, electronic, post-modern edge, you are led "Into The Waves," with its Black Tape... "With My Sorrows" sort of feel (did they get the idea from Attrition for this song?), which are two of the best tracks.

Next is "In Your Hand," with its rapid tempo and murky electronica, is quirky and surreal; next follows "Surge And Run," a langourous song resembling most of those found on the excellent "The Attrition Of Reason," with its fading and surging female voice, Bowe's sing-song voice, melting in, and bizarre electronic effects; the next song, "Marianne's Dream," which seems incongruous at first, but then melts into this slow dream-like song, again, it sounds like something Black Tape... would later use for their "Remnants Of a Deeper Purity," only difference being, that in Attrition's version, surrealism abounds.

Besides the slow, droning, pathos of the song, there are children screaming and...chattering...in the background noise...which makes it seem even more mysterious...then this too fades away, and we're left with that very ominous yet drowing effect and feeling of the drone...for most of the time; "Dreamsleep" follows, with its dark wall of sound, vibrating like broken speakers, with chirping electronica here and there, and a void-like sound, of empty space, which continues to assault its listener, finally breaking into a female voice, which doesn't seem to compliment the austere and surreal music, but nevertheless works out; "The Last Refuge" is next, and sounds like something that could be used for the soundtrack to an Italian horror film, maybe a zombie film by Fulci, replete with a female voice and ominous whispers in the background droning away, against the electronica (here mimicking a cathedral organ, perfect touch); "The beginning of the End" follows -- dark again, refined, Gothic, surreal, resembling the works to be found in the excellent "Smiling At The Hypogonder Club." Along with the strange lyrics, which sounds mad and...well...it's Attrition, what can you say?

Next follows "Questions," which starts out with birds chirping and a slow, piano introduction (resembling the work of Scriabin), with a female voice recounting surreal poetry; next comes the driving "Which Hand," with a slighly angry, or vehement female voice, contrasting against the once again bizarre "horrific" electronic effects, only to meld together in a very tasteful ariatic-like blend, tapering off into a sort of ecstaty of sounds and voices (also angelic background choir), another very excellent song.

Finally, we reach "A Forgotten Dream," with its slow mournful piano, ballad-like intoduction, which continues with more strange effects, like someone blowing into empty bottles, tinny sounds, electronic refuse, glassy notes in the background, very much like a dream deferred, especially as the piano music grows in intensity. The last song "A'dam and E'va" has been featured elsewhere. It has a Gothic feel again, with pipe organ effects and ominous singing and its almost humourous lyrics ("Turning on red lights and swimming in beer fights, dancing on tables, Amsterdamn..."

I love Attrition, and if you like really dark Gothic music, you will too. :)

I am a giant fan of great concept albums. People that write great songs are fine, but I love the art form of creating an album. In my world, all albums would have consistent themes. Attrition's, "All Mine Enemys Whispers" is an example of such a concept album, and it is executed very tastefully, and with great talent. The album is about Victorian era serial killer, Mary Ann Cotton. I want to focus on the music, but you should definitely read up on the subject matter, as the story is quite fascinating.

Overall, this is a dark ambient style album with a lot of neoclassical elements. However, all of the instrumentation is very subdued, extremely dark, and quite ghostly. The piano work that is scattered about the album is very gentle, but genuinely spooky. The same can be said for the violin and cello work, which very slowly creeps around the mix. The subtle musical movements are really quite scary. The electronic ambient work is not quite as thick as what you might hear on a Lustmord recording, but does create a very tense and tortured mood. There is definitely a sense of evil here that takes place between every musical note.

It is hard to draw comparisons, but this might be of interest to anyone who likes Midnight Syndicate, Shinjuku Thief's "Witch Trilogy" or Jill Tracy's soundtrack to Murnau's "Nosferatu".

Well, since no one has written a review for this cd, I suppose I will.

First of all, Attrition is very avant-garde, the songs are spooky, pseudo-cerebral (meant to be that way too), and they have a goth edge to them. Also remember that this cd is from the 80's (I believe it is) and if you don't like 80's music, well, don't bother.

I really love Attrition though, and will always support them; many Goths don't even know who they are though, and that's a crying shame. Attrition is just as Goth as The Cure.

ATTRITION The Jeopardy Maze (Projekt) It has been fifteen years since the release of Attrition's first album. Instead of sounding like a tired band at the end of their career, The Jeopardy Maze is the culmination of everything the band has built up before, sparked with a fresh vitality and a sense of calm confidence. If anything, I would go so far as to say this is probably the strongest release we have seen yet from this British outfit. Martin Bowes is the main force behind Attrition, as he writes everything, programs it, mixes it and sings on it. Aiding him is Julia Waller, who adds her beautiful voice to most of the tracks, and Frack Dematteis, who does an equally superb job blending his viola into the mix. The interplay between Martin's deep, ashen vocals and Julia's operatic approach is the main appeal of Attrition, as they work together to drive home memorable tracks like "Waste Not, Want..." and "The Illuminator."

Musically, The Jeopardy Maze is all over the place. From dark ambient instrumentals, filled with menace and beauty, to more up-tempo (but still eerie) dance songs, Attrition handle all the styles with precision and sequences them in a logical and eminently listenable fashion. The diverse elements are even brought together in one song, "I Am a Thief," with equal aplomb. The band somehow manages to incorporate elements from gothic, industrial, ambient, and techno music without coming close to being pigeonholed in any particular style.

This isn't the kind of album you're going to properly enjoy cruising down I-90 or cleaning out your refrigerator. You need to be able to sit down in a darkened room and really listen to it, feel it. If you haven't heard Attrition yet, but are a fan of bands like Die Form or some of the Projekt bands, The Jeopardy Maze is a definite must. [Daniel Hinds]

I just had to say something here. I find it strange that the first reviewer said that "Mind Drop" is worthless? It's strange that, being a musician and classically trained, that is one of the most memorable songs for me from their (Hypogonder...) album. The reason some people don't like it is because they don't truly understand that TRUE Gothic genre. Plus, the voices which oppose one another, along with the creepy atmospheric bells and dark organ music, are meant to be avant-garde in a Gothic sense. The lyrics as well (if you "get it") are avant-garde: "pour the gospel onto father's grave...crybaby...cry out your eyes..." very very strange and unnerving and yet not one bit of cacaphony nonetheless. As I've been reading the reviews for Attrition, I also find it odd how most of the albums getting positive reviews (or any at all) are the ones with "danceable" tracks on them. Come on people. That is not what they are about.

I've been into Goth music the better part of the last 12 years and at this point my interest in bands that cannot be classified as anything but "Goth" is waning a bit. So it is very seldom that I check out an album like this (I'd only heard a handful of their songs prior to this) these days and even more seldom that I can say anything positive for it. Attrition takes the goth label and wears it with a badge of pride, and thankfully the lyrics are anything but stereotypical (rather silly and trite actually). The first song "Monkey in a Bin" is by far the funniest and most unique, wit dat funky synth bass, female vocals which sound Gremlin-like and outrageously deep male vocals. The rest of the songs on the first half of the album except "The Next Day" and "Mind Drop" are worthless...the deep male vocals do not compliment the weak artsy fartsy electronics and are hampered even more by the nagging, warbly vocals of the female vocalist. Starting with my favorite song on this album, "Haydn", the style shifts dramatically to a sound reminiscent of The Sisters of Mercy meets early electro punk/goth Alien Sex Fiend. Thankfully Martin Bowes does all the vocals on these songs and his voice no longer sticks out like a sore thumb. All of the quintessential elements of 80's dancefloor goth are here, reverb laden guitars, throbbing elecronic bass, deep male vocals, the drum machine and highlighted by creative synths and sequencing. Months after buying this "Haydn", "Death Truck", "My Friend Is Golden", "To the Devil" and "At the Fiftieth Gate" are still stuck in my head and I'm still impressed.

If you are a fan of Attrition this is a geat album to buy for a glimpse of Attrition in their early days.Attrition's music resinates with electronic sounds of Industrial influences to Gothic rock with a twist.Martin Bowes vocals are dark and rough, while Julia Waller's haunting vocals add a bit of mystery to the atmosphere.Most of the songs on the recollection '84 - '89 are a bit more of the early electronic days and on the gothic rock edge.Definetly worth listening to.

If you are a fan of Attrition this is a geat album to buy for a glimpse of Attrition in their early days.Attrition's music resinates with electronic sounds of Industrial influences to Gothic rock with a twist.Martin Bowes vocals are dark and rough, while Julia Waller's haunting vocals add a bit of mystery to the atmosphere.Most of the songs on the recollection '84 - '89 are a bit more on the gothic rock edge and definetly worth listening to.

THE MUSIC CONVEYS SIMPLE TORRENT TO SHEER BLISS. ENGROSSING LYRICAL/VOCAL STYLE LIKE NO AMERICAN ROCK AROUND. FIND THIS AND ANY OTHER BY ATTRITION WITH OUT REGRETS... FIND ALSO "HIDDEN AGENDA" BY ATTRITION, FOR A TECH-GOTH EDGE YOU CAN'T REMOVE FROM YOUR SKULL......PURE TALENT..SO RARE.......

Attrition's music was and probably always will be unclassifiable and innovative. They are never afraid to experiment with different genres, often creating eclectic mixtures of avantgard, neoclassical, EBM, darkwave, ethereal... Originally released in 1991 on Relic this CD is still very much listenable and enjoyable in Y2K. Most of it is rather intense, dancy and dark ("Thin Red Line", "Scenario", "Right Hand Man") and then there's slower and more melodic stuff like "A girl called Harmony" or "Legitimate Sin". The lyrics are quite interesting and at times rather psychotic. Combined with the urgent music and eerie "industrial" male and operatic female vocals, they give the listener an uneasy feeling.

This is truly a cd that even people who have no idea what Gothic music is, can enjoy. The deep crooning voice can soothe the most savage beat, while the rythym's can even be considered danceable, unlike most of their prior music. A must for all Gothic fans, but don't pass it up if you are not!