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Suicide
"American supreme"
Format:
CD
Online date:
1/6 2004
Label:
Blast First/Playground
Genre:
electro, rock
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When Suicide released their first self-titled album in 1977, they placed themselves among the most important electronic bands ever. The line-up was, and still is, Alan Vega on vocals and Martin Rev on electronics and keyboards. The equipment consisted of a Farfisa organ, some cheap analogue synths and a primitive drum machine. The music was haunting, harsh, monotonous, sleazy and all electronic, with a twisted scent of rockabilly.
They were a main influence to artists such as Soft Cell, The Cassandra Complex and Klinik. The Suicide sound was also ripped off, almost right away by the mid-eighties disco-punk screwheads Sigue Sigue Sputnik. Even rock bands like Sisters of Mercy and Jesus and Mary Chain had Suicide as an important source of inspiration. They still have a great impact on some bands today, like Swedish Silverbullit for example.
Though they have been around since the seventies, they have only released five albums, including "American supreme". The last before came out in 1992 and is called "Why be blue?" and it's far out their worst album, boring and sugar sweet (in a bad way).
When I got "American supreme" I really didn’t know what to expect, because of the lousy "Why be blue?" on one hand, and Alan Vegas magnificent collaborations with Pan Sonic and Etant Donnes on the other.
"American supreme" starts of with the rather modest track "Televised Executions", but the rest of the album is a really nice experience. The music is built upon looping drum and sound phrases, giving the whole album kind a static feeling, which in this case is good and making it suggestive. The soundscape is constantly altered by various effects, causing the songs to slowly evolve over time. "American Supreme" is a very up to date sounding album with elements from hiphop, electronica, techno and industrial. But in the same time there are actually many connections back to their first album. Many of the songs may appear rather "easy listening" at first glance, but soon the glossy surface cracks and unease start to seep up from the abyss below. The monotonous character of the songs and Alan Vegas demented vocals highly contributes to the unpleasant atmosphere that always lurks behind every corner.
My personal favourites are the moody "Misery Train", the desperate "Wrong Decisions", the subtle creepiness in "Power Au Go-Go" and the chaotic "Dachau, Disney, Disco".
This is without any doubt a political album, and the bitter irony of the albums title is more than obvious already on the first track. In other words, this is NOT an album I would recommend for George Bush, but I certainly do for everybody else.
/Daniel Malmlöf
Check CDDB tracklists for this record:
Suicide"American supreme"
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