As you can see, the cover shows a misty, moonlit landscape, most likely crawling with things you'd rather not see with your own eyes. The music contained here would be right at home, drifting through the trees or echoing off the mountains pictured, something you'd only hear a distorted snatch of, perhaps while being pursued by someone.
Or something.
One of the sonic threads that holds "Musick" together is that of tiny, buzzing percussion. Another is that of a high, frozen choir. Both threads are introduced here on "Are You Shivering?". There is also some large noises and Balance's trembling, stuttering voice (with an effect similar to that of the one used on the Butthole Surfers cover of "Hurdy Gurdy Man") humming throughout. Aside from these elements and some pretty amazing lunar imagery (In the oceans of the moon / swimming squidlike and squalid / this bright moon is a liquid / the dark earth is a solid), this is all you have...for over nine minutes. The theme of the album (cold moonlight and its relation to the darkness) is established nicely, but it tends to drag a bit. This is an issue that will pop up more than once on "Musick".
The beginning of "Red Birds Will Fly Out Of The East And Destroy Paris In A Night" reminds me of the music from the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror vignette, "Bad Dream House", but then things get open, intricate and cold. The sounds used are a bit dated, and, once they start to develop, remind me of both "In Motion" and "Intriguing Possibilities" from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' score for The Social Network. Aside from these odd and random bells this track rings in my head, the image of a frantic chase down the side of a snow-covered mountain also comes to mind. A wolf chasing a rabbit. Towards the end, there is some excellent noise which serves as a very nice chaotic climax to this chase (again, very "In Motion"). An avalanche. Just as with "Are You Shivering?", the darkness is palpable here.
"Red Queen" is unnerving from the second it comes shivering into your ears. Evidently, it's about the media and how false and misleading it is. This might be the most mundane topic Coil has ever covered in their career...or at least the most relatable, but it it definitely the creepiest song about the media I've ever heard. The piano on here is great (and slightly menacing), and serves to cover up and compliment the truly unsettling detuned, wavering guitar noise at the same time. Eventually, some jazzy hi-hat comes in and "Red Queen" starts to sound a bit like Bowie's "Bring Me The Disco King"*. Like "Shivering", the song drags a bit, but that piano really does a lot to mitigate that fact. While this might not fit in with the established theme of a cold, dark, winter's night, this is certainly music you'd only hear after nightfall.
Next up, "Broccoli". Okay. I'm just going to put up the lyrics before I go any further.
Wise words from the departing:
Eat your greens, especially broccoli
Remember to say "thank you" for the things you haven't had.
By working the soil, we cultivate the sky.
We embrace the vegetable kingdom.
The death of your father, the death of your mother
is something you prepare for
all your life
all their life
That is repeating throughout, underneath the following:
Wise words from the departing
The death of the mother and the death of the father,
is something you prepare for,
for all of their lives
for all of your life
Wise words from the departing:
Eat your greens, especially broccoli.
Wear sensible shoes
And always say "thank you"
Especially for the things you never had
Wise words from the departing:
By working the soil, we cultivate the sky
and enter the vegetable kingdom of our own heaven.
By working the soil, by working the soil, we cultivate good manners.
We used to say "please" and "thank you", especially for things we never had.
Wise words from the departing:
Eat your greens, especially broccoli.
And always say "thank you", especially for broccoli.
The former verses are sung in a creaking yet avuncular voice while the latter are spoken in Balance's leathery, dead husk. The music is plinky and backed by a man (?) moaning in falsetto. This feels very much like a nursery rhyme or bedtime story**. I picture Balance reciting this to children. Not his, and not in a bedroom, but from the mouths of dark alleys in the gray backstreets of some child's nightmare. As odd as the subject matter is, this also fits right in with the overall theme of the dark. In fact, I believe that "Broccoli" offers a pretty strong case for being afraid of it. This is one of the creepiest Coil songs I have ever heard.
"Strange Birds" starts off with a complex beat made up of more of those tiny, fuzzy snaps and pops that litter this album. A buzzing, plucked wire joins the jamboree, and then, well, some birds. Whether they are actually strange or not would take someone who more of an ornithologist than myself. Based on the sounds these birds are making, I get the feeling that Coil isn't treating them very well. Despite the possible mistreatment of these birds, this track has a really nice uptempo beat, the first on the album to diverge from the overall theme of cold darkness...until, as is the case with many Coil songs, about halfway through, things get really fucking creepy. Once we get to the point where Balance croaks "one day your eggs will hatch and some very strange birds are going to emerge" I'm about ready to run, screaming, from my headphones. Thanks, John, I was looking for a reason to be afraid of eggs.
Another tiny start with tiny sounds for "The Dreamer Is Still Asleep"***, and then the jazz swings in again with the drums and keyboards. Silence is just as important as sound on this and it feels like something out of an unreleased David Lynch film. As John Balance gets older, his voice is reminding me more and more of a combination of Bowie and Gavin Friday. That frozen choir from earlier in the record makes its final, blue appearance. I found my mind wandering as "Dreamer" hit minute seven or so.
This is something I found the whole album guilty of; if you're going to put out six tracks, none of them shorter than seven and a half minutes, there needs to be more variation in them. Some of them are just great, ("Red Birds..." and "Strange Birds") enough texture and growth to keep my attention, but a few of them, while they sound compelling and unique, just don't evolve, and that can be very frustrating, especially with repeat listens. I didn't dislike anything on here, it's a very strong album; the silence and jazz are odd and interesting choices, but I found myself bored at times, mainly with "Shivering" and "Dreamer". Again, they nailed the mood, but some of it just felt too long. I'd say it seems self indulgent, but I don't know if Coil is really capable of such things. Most of this album is actually kind of accessible****, and you can't say it doesn't live up to its title. Everything here sounds as if can only be heard after dark, and only properly when the listener is bathed in moonlight.
At the end of "Are You Shivering?" Balance declares "this is moon music in the light of the moon", and there are no better words to sum up this work.
These are hymns heard in the Church of Moon Worship, and I'm looking forward to hearing the second volume and spreading its gospel.
* Although I may just be saying that because both songs have piano and a slightly jazz-tinged hi-hat.
** For very disturbed children.
*** Something that sounds so Lovecrafty can only refer to...William Blake? All right, Wikipedia, I'll trust you...for now...
**** Comparatively.
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