PRESENT

After the band's 1978 breakup, the members of the classic lineup kept in touch and regularly collaborated with one another. They performed together on occasion throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, and they decided to re-form as the classic quartet in 2004.

The resulting album was 2005's Present. In some ways, it bears resemblance to the band's original plans for Pawn Hearts. Disc one consists of group compositions, and disc two is largely improvisational.

Disc one opens with "Every Bloody Emperor". It's a solemn, trudging piece that gradually builds in gravity. Hammill's voice is still strong, and I like some of the odd keyboard tones in this song's second half. However, this track doesn't quite land with me. It feels like it's lacking a bit of the Van der Graaf Generator spirit.

The instrumental "Boleas Panic" follows, and it features a smoky atmosphere led by Jackson's saxophone. Though the pace is much slower than a lot of their classic work, this is more in line with what I expect of the band. Banton's organ glimmers in support, and Evans's drumming is understated but effective.

"Nutter Alert" has an impactful opening featuring an odd, crunchy electric piano tone, biting sax, and slightly-distorted vocals. It's enthralling and insistent. This is one of their absolute-best tracks of the 21st Century.

Sharp electric guitar opens "Abandon Ship!" with an irregular pattern. Banton's organ is a bit clean and jazzy for this context, but the song's overall oddness suits the band well. This cut evolves well and winds up being pretty solid.

Another herky-jerky riff kicks off "In Babelsberg". There are some good ideas here, and it's unmistakably a VdGG track. Unfortunately, Hammill's guitar tone is atrocious, and it is mixed far too loudly.

Disc one of Present ends with "On the Beach". It opens with a bit of studio chatter and electric piano, but it soon becomes a straightforward ballad. From its simple vocals-and-piano intro, the song slowly adds a bit of pep. Jackson's saxophone is especially jazzy here, and Evans's drumming is tactful. Baton, meanwhile, lays down a warm, smooth bassline. Hammill has some fun with the vocal arrangements in the second half, as well. Despite an underwhelming opening, this winds up quite the enjoyable, laid-back song.

Moving onto the improvised disc of Present, "Vulcan Meld" fades in slowly. Saxophone is the lead instrument here. Multiple layers of sax are overdubbed on top of one another, and they're often laden with audio effects. It eventually turns into a growling, sinister, keyboard-driven piece. However?and this will be a refrain for disc two?this goes on for too long. There are good ideas, I'm sure it'd be fun to hear in a live context, and they probably could have workshopped a number of motifs into proper songs; but seven minutes of improvised instrumental music easily gets exhausting.

"Double Bass" features some cool synthesizer experiments uncharacteristic of the band, and overall it's  more focused than the opener. (It's still two minutes too long, though.) "Slo Moves" is torpid and moody, but it doesn't say or do much. It wouldn't be bad on a soundtrack for something, though.

"Architectural Hair" has a promising beginning. It's the band's usual dark sound with guitar, organ, and sax. Despite this being the longest track on the record, it doesn't feel overlong. (Well, maybe a little, but less so than the preceding pieces.)

I always start to lose interest around this point on the disc, due in large part to how meandering many of these songs are, so forgive me for the ensuing brevity. "Spanner" is woozy and dissonant, and "Crux" is the sweetest of these improvised tracks. "Manuelle" gives me flashbacks to "Meurglys III" and its reggae flavors, though this is more interesting than that jam session. "'Eavy Mate" is the shortest of these songs, at a hair under four minutes, but it's one of the weaker moments. "Homage to Teo" is relatively warm and quite jazzy, and the closing "The Price of Admission" bears some similarity to Magma.

The second disc of Present has a lot of good ideas, but it's entirely too long. Coupled with a really solid first disc, Present is a strong addition to Van der Graaf Generator's discography.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2023/07/10/deep-dive-van-der-graaf-generator/