7.5 out of 10
I've been on an early industrial kick lately, so I recently purchased some Cabaret Voltaire. If you're not familiar with them, Cabaret Voltaire was originally a group of teenagers in Sheffield, England messing around with early homemade synthesizers, effects boxes, tape machines, and Dada ideals. They had a long career that crossed over from experimental noise to an early type of industrial noise, to dance music. I've actually never come across any of their original albums in stores, just remixes. I had the same problem with Kraftwerk for the longest time. It was like no one in America had ever purchased The Man machine. I finally went to my computer and ordered some.
Cabaret Voltaire's "Red Mecca" is their third album dating back all the way to 1981. They had the motto "no sound shall go untreated." Every noise in on this album it mutilated in some strange way, creating this airy production mess. It works though, and I really have to wonder what their song writing process was.
The First Track "A Thousand Ways", has processed synths that make up a textured whispering background (some of which is quite beautiful), on top of which harsh skrulled guitars are banged on, over which the bass throbs along with everything else. The vocals are somewhere in the middle, and are really not much more than rhythmic chanting. Everything in-fact is done rhythmically, hammered upon. There are a few drum sounds, but not anything resembling a beat. "A Touch Of Evil", the next track is recycled horns from a murder mystery and a with sparse looped percussion usually associated with salsa (a bongo, wood sticks, and a guiro). "Black Mask", has a lot of ideas in it. Bleeps, bloops, backwards vocals, a simple drum machine pumping away 4/4 time. Wobbles of TV new samples, and other things are thrown into the background, echoed and scratched unrecognizable. " Landslide" actually has dance-ability, and shows signs of a great dance vibe. Instruments and spoken babble hum in and out of the song. All together it sounds like a paranoid high; energetic and fearful. If you wanted a song to sing along to, "Red Mask" is pretty as close as it's going to get. I can just barely make out what he's chanting. Cut and paste lyrics, that don't really make sense but do sound damn cool. "Sly Doubt", was once a pop song- now mutilated, and drug through effects and mud. Then shot into space and served medium rare. "Split Second Feeling" and "Spread The Virus" follow the same formula.
All and all Red Mecca is a album brimming with ideas that would be perfected by other people in different bands and times. But for what it is, its a fun scavenger hunt listen. If you listen closely you hear great sounds and melodies. If you want to listen to something passively, this isn't for you. you'll miss everything. This album's songs are hidden under mounds of effects and weird mixing, so much so I wouldn't recommend listening to this without headphones. If you kinda like this album, but wish it was a little more rockin', then check out Chrome, a band from the same time period which had a lot in common.
Bottom Line: the Cabies take patience, and sound like a tv party in an industrial warehouse. If your looking for melodic, this isn't your ticket. If you want something old, experimental and off beat then this is just the thing.
Standout Tracks: Sly Doubt, Landslide, A Touch Of Evil
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