REVIEW: Triumph 2000, Phazed and Confused (Derailed)
- Chris Hill
A mix of pre-apocalyptic, urban, instrumental landscapes, French film soundtrack, and laconic, club-filling space rock, Phazed and Confused follows a map drafted in the minds of ex-Spectrum guitarist and producer Richard Formby and vocalist Howard Storey.
Formby, who's worked with some brilliant bands in his career (the defunct Spacemen 3, the serenely noisy Mogwai, The Jazz Butcher, the sparsely beautiful Dakota Suite, and Spectrum), now steps from the supporting cast to a leading role with Triumph 2000. He writes all the music, with Storey taking co-writing credit on the three vocal tracks ("Baris", "Happy Ever After", and "Out There"). The instrumentals comprise the majority of tracks on the cd, however, and rightly so.
"TFS #8" and "TFS #4", though part of a series, are two distinct pieces. "TFS #8" is joyous and bubbling, programmed drums cavorting with cloudy keyboard runs. "TFS #4" is a moody slice of film noir, eerie notes appearing out of a fog which recedes, then envelops the listener over its 5:30 runtime. It's reminiscent of Vangelis' "Blade Runner" music or the Tangerine Dream score for "The Keep".
"Untitled (Colonne Sonore)" evokes a '60s French romance soundtrack scrambled with a moody alto sax. "Oscillate" drives instrumentally through Godard's splendid "Alphaville", headlights illuminating the bleak urban landscape. The keyboards exhale like bellows and the drums provide an uneasy, steady meter for the track.
But for true film splendor, "Neumatic" wins the Oscar. Nearly 16 minutes of Middle Eastern wonder, multi-instrumentalist Formby wanders like Lawrence of Arabia over a swirling desert of drums, keyboards, and droning ambience, that eventually coalesces to an acoustic guitar which guides the listener to journey's end.
The three vocal tracks also deliver. "Baris" centers around a mesmerizing bouzouki rhythm, hypnotic as a cobra swaying back and forth. "Happy Ever After" - "if there was a God, right now where's I'd pray/if it's all in my head, come and take me away" - runs its lyrics about a dark, edgy love. "Out There" drifts through desolate sonic surroundings: "pressing on your lifeless lips/give me just one kiss/just when you think there's nothing out there/she is/with liquid eyes and arms outstretched/ she holds a demon grip/and like some crippled adolescent/you just bite your lip". Love isn't a sanctuary, it's an oasis with a bleached skull resting on the waterhole's edge.
The disc concludes with a remix of "Baris" by Overseer, and "Droppin' It (Triumph 2000 Mix)", a driving guitar finish to 67 minutes of aural travelogue. Phazed & Confused is a strange journey. With Formby as attentive guide, it's one worth taking.
