This Heat
Deceit
★★★★
Finally coming around to wrapping up This Heat's very acclaimed album output with their sophomore release. While their first album seemed very industrial and mechanically oriented, This Heat comes with an undeniable humanity on this release. Like a plea to the world, but at the same time accepting whatever the future held for them. The cover is immediately off-putting; the photo collage shaped into a screaming face along with the cutout of an atomic bomb explosion right in the middle. To me, This Heat was very straightforward when it comes to the theme of this album. It focuses on destruction, annihilation, rebellion, and the disdain that existed at the time due to the Cold War and the entire world that was in a state of paranoia. It's the sound of a group that truly and firmly believes that their end was near. Compared to their first release, it's more calculated and explosive. There's more raw passion here and that's boosted with the recording quality which is better than any of their material I've heard before this. And while their self titled debut had a shroud of mystery surrounding it, This Heat decided to tear that off in order to create this album. It's like they took their past selves and doused them with enough radioactive fallout to create a mutated, frightening version of their music. It's definitely not something you'd expect from the eighties but that's what makes it all the more interesting.
The first song takes a 180 degree turn from anything that This Heat has done so far. "Sleep" relies on drums and vocals to create a catchy droney atmosphere that is trying to lull you into a deep unconscious state. It's short but it begins the theme that will be dissected through the rest of the album. The dark rumbling cavern of "Paper Hats" gave me an initial feeling of Swans and their repetitive guitars in their most recent incarnation. Although the vocals are not at all like Gira's, there is some level of abstraction. But the point is clear, as the lyrics are being yelled at you in a very drawn out way. The song breaks down and these much calmer loops take over, all the way to the end. "Triumph" is the funniest song on here for me. The bones being rattled, kazoos playing marches, and an off-putting organ in the background. It doesn't overstay its welcome, and it makes a great segue to the most explosive and harrowing song. "S.P.Q.R." is an ode to the "greatness" of the age after World War 2. This was probably an even greater feeling during the beginning of the 1980s and forward. But this "Pax Romana" came with the threat of nuclear devastation that every person during this time feared. The chanting and rapid No Wave guitars seals the deal on this track for me, and I ended up playing it a few times before moving forward.
"Radio Prague" was the next thing to attract my attention. While This Heat has obviously gone in a more natural song creating direction on this album, "Radio Prague" is a good break in the program which returns them to their tape looping and manipulation roots. "Makeshift Swahili" is all a nervous buildup with a tension that is being emphasized through the growling and insane vocals being thrown at you. The lyrics are based in a sort of breakdown of language itself, and it's very confusing on the first listen. "A New Kind of Water" and "Hi Baku Shyo" are great companions to help end this dense album. "A New Kind of Water" has bright guitars but a bass and drums that suggest something darker and even a foreshadowing of a great storm. The lyrics are centered around excessive consumerism, the threat of global annihilation, and the general selfishness of humans. A melodic end to the album, it's like a final goodbye and explanation for why these events have transpired. It was always coming and we knew it, but we did nothing to stop it. Suddenly it ends, and "Hi Baku Shyo" is the song that presents the calm after destruction. It's completely instrumental and acts like a field recording of the world after nuclear war. Winds howl, ruins creak and sway, a bell chimes in the distance. It's bare and frightening, a real reminder that a lifeless version of Earth could have been formed from our own actions, and still can be formed.
This Heat felt like they needed to make this album, and I'm glad they did. While it gives them a political agenda at the same time it's more of a description of the way of life that they endured and feared during the time. It's more protest than preach, and that's awfully similar to what punk music is. Of course it doesn't sound like the sweaty, high energy music of Dead Kennedys or Black Flag but the attitude is just the same. It's more paranoid and sometimes that paranoia leads directly to unrestrained anger in the singing. And this has been labeled time and time again as a Post-Punk album. But to me, it remains an artifact of what punk can be, and the diversity that runs through the veins of the genre itself. While it's not your typical punk release, the sense of resistance and rebellious attitude is something that was needed and welcomed at this time. The album seems like it's collapsing, even more so as it progresses. At times it can be bare, radiation soaked and violent. A great reflection of the world This Heat was living in, and one that they not only feared but expected not to change. It's a chilling end to their main releases, and while we can all be glad that their narrative of our future didn't come true, there's no telling what can happen in years to come.
Favorite Song: S.P.Q.R.
The first song takes a 180 degree turn from anything that This Heat has done so far. "Sleep" relies on drums and vocals to create a catchy droney atmosphere that is trying to lull you into a deep unconscious state. It's short but it begins the theme that will be dissected through the rest of the album. The dark rumbling cavern of "Paper Hats" gave me an initial feeling of Swans and their repetitive guitars in their most recent incarnation. Although the vocals are not at all like Gira's, there is some level of abstraction. But the point is clear, as the lyrics are being yelled at you in a very drawn out way. The song breaks down and these much calmer loops take over, all the way to the end. "Triumph" is the funniest song on here for me. The bones being rattled, kazoos playing marches, and an off-putting organ in the background. It doesn't overstay its welcome, and it makes a great segue to the most explosive and harrowing song. "S.P.Q.R." is an ode to the "greatness" of the age after World War 2. This was probably an even greater feeling during the beginning of the 1980s and forward. But this "Pax Romana" came with the threat of nuclear devastation that every person during this time feared. The chanting and rapid No Wave guitars seals the deal on this track for me, and I ended up playing it a few times before moving forward.
"Radio Prague" was the next thing to attract my attention. While This Heat has obviously gone in a more natural song creating direction on this album, "Radio Prague" is a good break in the program which returns them to their tape looping and manipulation roots. "Makeshift Swahili" is all a nervous buildup with a tension that is being emphasized through the growling and insane vocals being thrown at you. The lyrics are based in a sort of breakdown of language itself, and it's very confusing on the first listen. "A New Kind of Water" and "Hi Baku Shyo" are great companions to help end this dense album. "A New Kind of Water" has bright guitars but a bass and drums that suggest something darker and even a foreshadowing of a great storm. The lyrics are centered around excessive consumerism, the threat of global annihilation, and the general selfishness of humans. A melodic end to the album, it's like a final goodbye and explanation for why these events have transpired. It was always coming and we knew it, but we did nothing to stop it. Suddenly it ends, and "Hi Baku Shyo" is the song that presents the calm after destruction. It's completely instrumental and acts like a field recording of the world after nuclear war. Winds howl, ruins creak and sway, a bell chimes in the distance. It's bare and frightening, a real reminder that a lifeless version of Earth could have been formed from our own actions, and still can be formed.
This Heat felt like they needed to make this album, and I'm glad they did. While it gives them a political agenda at the same time it's more of a description of the way of life that they endured and feared during the time. It's more protest than preach, and that's awfully similar to what punk music is. Of course it doesn't sound like the sweaty, high energy music of Dead Kennedys or Black Flag but the attitude is just the same. It's more paranoid and sometimes that paranoia leads directly to unrestrained anger in the singing. And this has been labeled time and time again as a Post-Punk album. But to me, it remains an artifact of what punk can be, and the diversity that runs through the veins of the genre itself. While it's not your typical punk release, the sense of resistance and rebellious attitude is something that was needed and welcomed at this time. The album seems like it's collapsing, even more so as it progresses. At times it can be bare, radiation soaked and violent. A great reflection of the world This Heat was living in, and one that they not only feared but expected not to change. It's a chilling end to their main releases, and while we can all be glad that their narrative of our future didn't come true, there's no telling what can happen in years to come.
Favorite Song: S.P.Q.R.
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