:: Track Listing

1. Old Dominion
2. Count Sheep
3. In This City
4. Window Display
5. Native Numb
6. Leave it to Rust
7. Disposable Parts
8. Sold!
9. Shoulder
10. Pleasure and Privelige
11. Natural Disasters
12. Carbonation
13. Salty
14. High Society
15. Diamond Raft

:: Record Review

Enon

High Society
(Touch & Go; 2002)

Rating: 80%
Combined Rating: 82%


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John Schmersal is a tricky fucker. I can't figure out for the life of me why Enon isn't a failed project; Believo! should have been a shit sandwich and High Society should be the album that hand-delivers them to a fate not unlike a Doberman that bites a rich kid. When your claim to fame is being the guitar player in a brilliant indie band (Brainiac) that was seemingly propelled by the wacky tomfoolery of the lead singer (Tim Taylor) -- who died in 1997, mind you -- you have to rethink your strategy a little. If you copy the style of your former band and accidentally forget to write songs as good as -- if not better, if you want to make a name for yourself -- your former band, you have problems. You won't really create a new fanbase if the same people either didn't like Brainiac or, likewise, wouldn't have if they actually heard them. Especially if it's sub par Brainiac-type material that pales in comparison to songs like "Flypaper," "Sexual Frustration" and "Fresh New Eyes." Not only that, those fans of your ex-band that you were relying on sticking with you because you kept the same sound don't seem to be around anymore; either bored with the similar sound or, a tad more likely considering that we're talking about Brainiac in this instance, turned against you for trampling over the "legacy" of the former band. Like I said, it's a tough situation.

As it is, Believo! turned out to be a beautifully produced mess; not unlike latter-day Brainiac with its sporadic genius ("Rubber Car," "Conjugate the Verbs," "Matters Gray," "Believo!" and "Get the Letter Out" are all great, inhabiting the instrumental schizophrenia and intensity of the better Brainiac material from Hissing Prigs, yet much less daring vocally) and welcoming of really fucked up filler. Songs like "Come Into" were much more straightforward than anything Brainiac had ever done, while "Elected" sounds like the logical extension of Electro-Shock for President's more unlistenable moments (what the fuck was "Fashion 500," anyhow?). Clever, really. Don't deny your past but don't rely on it. Seems logical as an afterthought, but still this was only one album and as bands go, keeping things interesting is a difficult task. Believo! was an inconsistent winner, but as far where they would go...I don't think anyone expected this.

So anyways, along comes High Society with its brilliant cover art and another singer (ex-half of The Lapse ex-Blonde Redhead, Toko Yasuda). Expectations are still high but you can't blame us fans for being a little skeptical. "Old Dominion" goes by little by little and you're impressed, but not too much. It's understandable. These aren't the kind of songs that are going to kick your ass completely on the first listen. As for Toko's voice in the Enon mix? While a little off-putting a first, by the time "In the City" is over, Toko's voice becomes a pleasant surprise (even if "In the City" does have the most tedious lyrics on the album). Three songs in and it sounds like a compilation. Ok. Ok. "Window Display" is perhaps the best song on the album but takes some getting used to. Sounding like "Counting Sheep," it's completely devoid of the schizophrenic instrumentation that you'd expect from an Enon song. Fairly straightforward in arrangement and form, it confirms Schmersal as a competent songwriter and not just talented when it comes to textures and inventive arrangements. "Leave It To Rust," "Shoulder" and "Natural Disasters" are all great rock songs that still seem to fit alongside Believo!-style tracks like "Native Numb." It's the Brainiac classic that never was.

Of course, there's some filler ("Carbonation," "Salty," "Sold!," and the closest this album gets to Bonsai Superstar, "Pleasure and Privilege") and the closing two tracks are fairly uneventful (although "High Society" has grown on me quite a bit, but "Diamond Raft" has yet to move me one way or the other). Overall, it's inconsistent - but it's also thoroughly enjoyable and for a rock album, and that's always a rare treat.

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[-- count total: 7 --]

Scott Reid :: 1 June 2002 |