IN THIS LIFE

Having made quite the splash in the avant-rock scene of the 1980s, Denver's THINKING PLAGUE followed up the already strange avant-prog sensation "Moonsongs" with an even more experimental stylistic approach. The band spent a couple years rehearsing in an old yoghurt factory and expanded its lineup to include seven full-time band members and eight guest musicians including Fred Frith who contributed guitar parts on the album's longest track "Organism (Version II)." IN THIS LIFE continued THINKING PLAGUE's unique stylistic mix of classic Henry Cow and Art Bears only with a much more expansive musical palette.

While guitars, bass, keyboards and drums kept the band's sound firmly in the realms of avant-progressive rock, the jazzy sounds of saxophones were retained. What's new for IN THIS LIFE was the addition of various African and Balinese percussion instruments which decorate the album's run with carefully crafted tribal drum circles that offer a hypnotizing base to get all weird around. Also new to the band were accordions, violins, mandolins, clarinets and various other ethnic instruments such as the Russian balalaika.

Having already developed a unique avant-prog sound all their own, this time around THINKING PLAGUE simply expanded in to a larger than life array of musical motifs, even more angular compositions and an emphasis on extremely diverse passages that resulted in one of the band's most memorable experiences. Having wooed the Henry Cow members, Chris Cutler was so impressed that he released IN THIS LIFE on his own Recommended Records label and it became the first US release off his British label.

Released in 1989, IN THIS LIFE couldn't have been more different than what was considered popular at the time. This album originally featured seven original tracks plus two bonus tracks that included a remixed version of "Moonsongs" and a remastered version of "Possessed," the former from the previous album of the same name and the latter from the band's 1984 eponymously titled debut. "Lycanthrope" begins the album in the by then typical THINKING PLAGUE style with bizarrely woven musical motifs slinking around like jittery serpents in a mating ritual. The seven minute track generates all the proper avant-prog mojo that sets the tone for the flirtatious frenzy to come.

The following "Run Amok" is perhaps the most immediate and frenetic of any THINKING PLAGUE material ever released. With crazy frantic piano runs, it reminds a bit of Present's debut "Triskaïdékaphobie" only begins to showcase alternating soundscapes that were designed to craft the ultimate contrast. The skilled musicians somehow managed to create long abstract passages with sophisticated instrumental interplay and given how atonal and utterly challenging such acrobatics may have been, countless rehearsals must've been required to achieve such intricate stylistic approaches and hairpin turns. "Malaise" returns to a less frenetic pace however offers a complete detachment from reality with claustrophobic atmospheres and jittery time signature rich percussive drive.

The remaining tracks generate the same wow factor with a never-ending series of bass grooves and multi-instrumental contrapuntal weirdnesses and of course vocalist Susanne Lewis nailed her role with equally bizarre uses of the voice. "The Guardian" takes on an Eastern European ethnic flair whereas the closing original "Fountain Of Tears" sounds like an avant-version of something The Cranberries may have dreamed up if they delved into the crazy complexities that THINKING PLAGUE has deftly mastered at this point. Even the bonus tracks were among the most complex from the previous albums fit in perfectly in company with the new material.

IN THIS LIFE is certainly the type of musical experience that requires a great many spins to totally sink in. This has always been a four star album in my book but it wasn't until i started listening to it more often with with my full attention that it finally sunk in that this is a bonafide masterpiece of avant-prog rock. Everything is just to larger than life on this one with crazy transitions, exotic juxtapositions of ethnic flavors and the stylistic approach from the Rock In Opposition masters. Unfortunately this would be the last album with Suzanne Lewis which left the band without a singer. They tried to replace her but it would take another seven years to find the proper replacement to release the band's next masterpiece "In Extremis." Crazy complex and too good to be true, this album is avant-prog paradise to my ears.