The Place to Start
J. Brady | PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC United States | 06/16/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The best place to start, in my opinion, for the uninitiated but curious Throbbing Gristle listener. This is (slightly) more mainstream in approach - Cossi's "Hot on the Heels of Love" is a GREAT synth pop song and "Beachy Head" and "Exotica" are Eno-esque pieces of ambient sound washes - but many songs still maintain the unmistakable subversive lyrics and vocals of Genesis P Orridge ( I love the lyric about having a biscuit tin to keep panties in ). This doesn't have the chaotic, atonal sound of many of their earlier releases, and points to the more traditional approach of Chris and Cosey and Psychic TV, the two bands created in the aftermath of the breakup of Throbbing Gristle. Probably not my favourite of the TG releases ( that would be DoA - the Third and Final Report ) but essential nontheless as I think you really can't go wrong with any of their albums once you fully understand Throbbing Gristle, an aquired taste, to be sure."
Hot On The Heels Of TG
André Ming | Europe | 01/18/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The poppiest Throbbing Gristle release ever, this is enjoyable from start to finish. They kept their arty pose, their performance artists pedigree and their weird lunatic essence, but the tunes are more accessible and traditionally melodic in its minimal fashion. This time they decided to create a listenable record without losing their integrity and indie-industrial credibility, and we have to give them credits for achieving this purpose so successfully. After listening to ''Exotica'', both ''Disciplines'' and ''Hot In The Heels Of Love'', it's hard to swallow contemporary minimal acts with nothing new to add to this noisy way paved by its masters."
Appreciate it for what it is...
Jack Dempsey | South Miami Beach, Florida | 05/19/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If you're a die-hard Chris and Cosey fan (are there any left out there??), then you may have heard about their rather dubious beginnings in TG. If you think that you are in for Chris and Cosey by considering this TG release (the allegedly most "accessible of all" TG releases), think again.No, there is no "October Love Song" or "Exotika" (the C&C version that is!) on this one. Nowhere to be found are the waif-like butterfly-fragile vocals, or the tender, lilting keyboards. Instead, this rather tough and dry early industrial music. Much like Nico singing, with a heavily drunken Kraftwerk or Devo laying down the tunes. The "tunes" are often very-loosely contstructed (to say the least), and often resemble a John Zorn piece.So, perhaps you have a general idea of what to expect now, or perhaps my review has been horrible and leaves you absolutely clueless. I hope that the latter is not the case. In short, just don't expect somber, sleepy-time-sweet-ala-mr.-sandman type music.Also, if you ever come across a recording by TGT, I would recommend you stay away. It's some almagamation of TG and C&C, meets early Psychic T.V. (and, of course, Genesis P. Orridge). Very mid 80's style housy-ness, with almost no vocals. Not very decent, and, actually, shameful for an outfit of this caliber."