CLIPS
Like a John Coltrane solo in the middle of a Brahms concerto, Test Dept. rip through conventional notions of music and video with the subtlety of an elephant in heat. Turning the notion of concrete soundtrack music inside out, these adventurous British industrialists pound, hammer, drill and yell their way into audio transcendence, accompanied here by as ugly, violent and unsettling a collection of visual images as you’d hope to find this side of a splatter-film.
CLIPS
This month’s Clips were written by Dave DiMartino and Ira Robbins.
TEST DEPARTMENT Program For Progress (Sony)
Like a John Coltrane solo in the middle of a Brahms concerto, Test Dept, rip through conventional notions of music and video with the subtlety of an elephant in heat. Turning the notion of concrete soundtrack music inside out, these adventurous British industrialists pound, hammer, drill and yell their way into audio transcendence, accompanied here by as ugly, violent and unsettling a collection of visual images as you’d hope to find this side of a splatter-film. The pieces range from enigmatic political references to factory settings shot and tinted to resemble Sergei Eisenstein’s socialist realism. There’s nary a melody in earshot, and nothing you’d intentionally want to look at, all of which means TD have hit their chosen target squarely. Like some idealized anti-MTV, Program For Progress is capable of inducing pain, anxiety, unhappiness and anger. Try it out on your kid brother/sister’s friends the next time they come over to play their Van Halen/ Tears For Fears records. Heavy metal, indeed! I.R.
THE CURE Staring At The Sea/
The Images (Elektra Entertainment)