Review:

on 2011-02-20 CharlesMartel Said:

Discovering this album takes some time but it grows on you. It is not an easy sound to listen to and it requires several listens before one actually gets the point of it all. At first it seems badly organised and disjointed. Gradually you come to realise that is the way it was always meant to be. The Steve Albini production is what sees to that. This is not something which is going to instantly appeal to anyone.

The lyrics have a superb quality of barely restrained vitriol which is what throws you when you start to listen to it - this just does not sound right. That is part of the appeal of the band and their music. For a start, it puts you out of kilter sufficiently to be able to engage the songs, and particularly the themes within them when, in truth, those themes are bizarre bordering on the unpalatable.

For instance, take this from "Unsolved Child Murder" -

"People round here,
Don't like to talk about it,
Presumed dead,
Unsolved child murder,
Since they dragged the lake,
You know they sealed our fate"

A deeply morbid track about paedophilia is not going to appeal to everybody, but this song is as much about people's reaction to it as anything else. This theme if you like is carried on in tracks such as "Child Brides" and "After Murder Park".

If that is not to your taste, perhaps you could try disaffection and resentment replacing initial emotions of love and affection, such as on "Married to a Lazy Lover" -

"20 years
Married to a lazy lover.
20 years
Mixing alcohol and downers"

Or similar sentiments expressed on "Light Aircraft on Fire", my favourite track on the album:

"When you cut your lover slack
You'll get a fucking monster back"

None of the songs are going to leave you in your comfort zone, happy and undisturbed, but then Luke Haines twisted lyricism is not intended to do that. You will just have to be prepared for what you are about to experience. No one could accuse the Auteurs of shrinking from the issues and topics which may offend the sensibilities of their potential market. Still, the sound is intense and the vocals drift in and out of clarity. If you don't like it at first, keep going. You will get there in the end. You will be rewarded by it if you do. Just remember, this is not the stuff you put on when you want to liven up a dying party.
Rating: 6/10