OFF: Farflung's _The Belief Module_ (long)

[Marshall Wood]

As threatened...

I've been listening to Farflung's _The Belief Module_ for a few
days.  I'm familiar with two of their older releases, _25,000
Feet per Second_ and _So Many Minds, So Little Time_.  I'd rate
TBM as the most consistent of the three and the place to start
with this band.  That said, stylistically, they are all similar.
TBM is just the most "polished" (seems a strange word to use to
describe this music, but there it is).

Farflung (and their slightly more punky alter-ego Pressurehed)
have, to my ears, an identifiable sound.  Their music is typically
very heavy, with lots of crunchy passages and everything mixed to
the fore.  It's rare to hear a solo from any instrument.  Vocals
are typically gruff and/or processed, and sometimes unintelligible
(there are no printed lyrics with TBM).  Occasional forays into
deep space come courtesy of long instrumental passages.  Farflung
is modern space rock at its best.

The packaging of TBM is nice, but disappointingly minimal.  It's a
simple digipack, with just a list of contributors, recording dates,
and contact information printed on the interior.  The tracks on the
CD range from under 2 minutes to the 17-minute "The Dead Sea".

The 12 minute opening track, "The Day of St. Anthony's Fire", is
typical Farflung.  There is a middle eastern vibe here, provided
by a repeating sitar-ish theme.  After the opening vocal section,
we leave Earth orbit and blast into space.  The middle eastern bit
falls away, and the drums and synths lead the way for a while.  The
welcome return of the guitar kicks off the next crunchy section.

"Fingers of the Sky Catcher" starts off with the gentle strumming
of a guitar, which stands out on such a heavy album.  That gentle
atmosphere is quickly destroyed, however, when the spoken/shouted
vocals enter.  The chorus on this tune is sung in a deeper, clearer
tone than all of the other vocals on the album, but they are still
obfuscated by the heavy mix.  The vocal section is not long, and
we enter a long instrumental section.  The rhythm section is front
and center here, along with some gurgling synth, but the guitar is
very evident also, playing a clear solo which eventually blurs into
the synth nicely.  The shouting vocal returns briefly before the
track winds down at nearly the ten minute mark.  I can't believe I
used the word obfuscated.

"Gleam" stands out because of the prominent female vocals.  For the
heavier part of the song, these are double tracked along with the
typical processed (male) voice, but the closing section consists
of a jarringly gentle melody played on the keyboard, accompanied
by a quiet guitar.  Two female vocals overlap, each singing about
supernovas, eternity, and other topics worthy of space rock.

"The Dead Sea" is a great track, perhaps my favorite on the album.
It changes character several times through its 17 minutes.  The
opening consists of a repeating electric guitar line over a slow
rhythm.  Around the six minute mark, some ominous natural sounds
enter, and the music fades away, save for a droning synth.  The
creak of wood riding the waves and the call of the distant birds
paint a bleak picture, then the squeal of a radio signal, and
finally the music returns, with another crunchy guitar blasting
away over the bass & drums.  Female vocals are largely lost in the
mix.  The music is powerfully bleak.  "Dark Valley of Dreams", indeed,
as the repeating lyric states.  There is a 3 minute excursion into
slightly dissonant electronics that recalls vintage Tangerine Dream,
which climaxes with the return of the guitar and drums.

I've skipped over most of the shorter pieces, I realize.  These are
all good tracks, but don't contain the cosmic excursions of the
longer cuts.  The album has grown on me considerably after repeated
listenings.  Get it while you still can, I say.

MWood



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