Tracklist
1 | Beat | 7:17 | |
2 | Empty Words | 3:46 | |
3 | Without Stopping | 5:14 | |
4 | Under The Sun | 3:33 | |
5 | Fear Of Flying | 5:40 | |
6 | Looped | 2:40 | |
7 | Black Light | 6:54 | |
8 | Inside Out | 7:20 | |
9 | Coming Down | 4:38 | |
10 | Postscript | 16:43 | |
11 | Low Density | 7:16 |
The second album from New York City's Bowery Electric was released in late 1996, less than 15 months after their self-titled debut, but it found them having traveled light years musically in the interim, the group having seemingly decided to see how far they could take the guitar/ bass / drums / vocal setup into the atmosphere. Every aspect of their approach had been refined and focused: squalling, distorted guitars had been transformed into hazy, sensual sheets; the live drums transmuted to sampled rhythms more in debt to the blossoming downtempo sound of the day; bass lines reduced to their most basic diagrams; vocals submerged to become one with the narcotized fog of the instruments; even the lyrics were reduced to a few minimal lines used sparingly so as not to overshadow the dynamic. Beat is a lush and dense mantra of shadowy percussion, barely-there vocals and immersive drones that envelops the listener in an opiated blanket of sound. Includes the bonus track "Low Density," not featured on the original U.S. release.