A crucial founding member of still extant post-punk pioneers Wire, Colin Newman’s solo discography is substantial. In 1997, he released Bastard, a mostly instrumental collection infused with techno, electronica, and post rock. Although issued under Newman’s name, the set is an extensive collaboration with Malka Spigel of Minimal Compact, who Newman describes as his “partner in life and crime” (they married in 1986). If the styles tapped are now long established, the record’s range is engagingly broad. Featuring a dozen bonus tracks, the release makes its vinyl debut January 26 on the swim ~ label.
The first edition of Bastard, issued on CD in 1997, came with the “Voice” EP as a bonus disc, its four tracks initially issued on vinyl in ’95. They open disc two here. Unlike the pieces that encompass Bastard, the EP’s opener “Automation” and closer “Output” feature Newman’s vocals, with this addition lending these tracks a proper songlike feel even as they embrace the textures of electronica and techno (particularly “Output” with its dancefloor thump).
Indeed, the EP’s overriding focus is on the electronic, with these atmospheres having aged pretty well. The title cut integrates beaucoup guitar burn and looped telephone samples (including spoken passages) to create an ominous mood. Contrasting, Bastard is immediately more beats oriented, as “Sticky” (opening disc one) is an unabashed dance number, even as numerous layered repetitions add depth.
Guitars are present in the cyclical “May,” where the post rock sensibility comes in, though there are also subtle similarities to Wire in the track. There’s also guitar in “Slowfast (falling down the stairs with a drumkit)” but the main thrust is a drum and bass blitz at its most hyperactive. The bass gradually solidifies a dub foundation.
“Without” adds some bowed strings to a moodier, soundtrack-like scenario. It gradually becomes clear that Newman and Spigel were perfectly fine letting these tracks extend for a while. “g-deep” is a bass-heavy club bumper, and those traces of Wire return in “Spaced In” prior to establishing another dance groove. From there, “Spiked” combines a breakneck unrelenting rhythmic bedrock with injections of guitar, and “The Orange House & the Blue House” slows the pace and ups the grind.
Bastard’s closer “Turn” offers a looped vocal sample of Spigel amid an atmosphere that’s mildly reminiscent of The Third Eye Foundation. That’s cool. Just as swank are the four bonus tracks sourced from the swim ~ label compilations Swim Team #1 (2000) and Swim Team #2 (2003). Newman’s vocals are a major component in “The Narritiv” (a collab with Corrado Izzo), which gives off a strong post-punk vibe. The singing persists in “Time Will Allow,” where the happenings get in the ballpark of a pop single, though it’s still a mighty strange proposition.
“Blank Canvas” peppers its electronica template with squealing guitar abrasion, and “Tsunami” is a guitar heavy dose of straight up rock. It’s one of the only tracks on the set where vocals are missed. It’s also a nice tee-up for the final four previously unreleased selections (all from 2001), with “Cut the Slack” stylistically prescient of Wire’s Send/Read & Burn-era return.
But these final four tracks on Bastard are quite varied, e.g. the vaguely Beta Band-ish “Found & Bound” and the retro synth action of “Flight Mode.” Speaking of pop singles, “Unbroken” has elements that harken back to Wire’s late ’70s melodic highpoints. These last four tracks are a terrific capper to a set that reinforces Newman’s abilities as a sound sculptor, songwriter, and collaborator.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
B+
