When a artist declares a period of his or her work as being part of a “trilogy”, a part of me tends to see the move as being more than a little gimmicky. It’s like, if you only buy one or two of the three pieces involved, you will only be getting part of the story & the two parts you do have might not be self-contained enough to be sensible. So, you best go out and purchase the whole thing cause just what would you think if you went to watch the Original Trilogy for the first time, but forgot about The Empire Strikes Back?
Of course, there are also bands who declare, after the fact, that certain albums should make up a trilogy (I’m looking at you, Robert Smith) but that is a whole ‘nother story.
As of this week, German producer/musician Ulrich Schnauss has finished his own personal trilogy, with the official release of Good-Bye.
If there is but one story to tell based upon the sound of the three albums included, it is one of a man who - having become a fan-favorite in the electronic/IDM scene, pushes away his trademark sound, becomes reclusive & fascinated with the sounds of late 90’s shoe-gaze. The trilogy spells out this love affair.
The first album, Far Away Trains Passing By, is still one of my favorite albums. It gushes Boards of Canada-esque electronic ambient noises, if BOC was able to ditch all the negativity and suspicion that tends to seep into their music. It is a CD to put on while walking around a winter-time city, in awe of it all. Mildly cheesy, for sure - but fantastic.
Over the follow-up album (2003’s A Strangely Isolated Place), Ulrich broke with the electronic synth sounds and began concentrating on mastering his interpretation of Kevin Shields. The sound got denser, with more layering and less overt melodies.
And Good-Bye is the perfection of that concept. As he stated in interviews, each song appearing on Good-Bye might feature over a 100 layers, all mixed & muddled & mashed together. The intricacies of the record must be heard to be believed.
Like his 2003 offering, the album is as cohesive as any. Most tracks blend together, forming what almost feels like 55 minute long song. This is not an album with a couple singles and a pile of filler. And, while the similarities between the tracks are apparent, slight variations (the choir at the end of ‘Medusa’, the almost unmanipulated guitar on ‘For Good’, the restrained use of a vocoder on ‘Goodbye’, for example) begin to make each song stand out on it’s own over repeated listeners.
It would be remiss not to mention the overt Slowdive referencing apparent in Goodbye. With Ulrich’s use of his distorted, “wall of sound” with any vocals that appear on the album subdued, treated like another instrument to be layered upon in the mix, he finally has fully realized how to make his dreams come alive and blend traditional shoe-gaze and electronics.
It is a fitting end to the trilogy, and one can only hope that, having achieved this goal, Ulrich won’t leave his music behind. If his development over the course these albums is any indication, the future still has much fruit to bear.
mp3:
Ulrich Schnauss - Shine.
Ulrich Schnauss - A Song About Hope.
Goodbye will be available July 10th in North America through Domino Records. You can pre-order it from over here. While you wait, check Ulrich’s page for his tour itinerary & all other updates.
what about faux-quadrilogy commercial whoredom (i.e. Zeitgeist)?