HEATWAVE

All was definitely not well with Daniel Denis' Univers Zero and Andy Kirk had to chip in and help his band-mates out with the material for the album. It resulted in the first album by the band here Denis did not write the majority of the compositions. With that in mind it's even more surprising to discover that his pieces are below the previous efforts while Andy Kirk, on the other hand, stands for some of the more elaborate material on the album. Still his compositional skills are not enough to maintain a momentum on the album's 20+ minutes monster titled The Funeral Plain and I usually lose my interest 3/4 into the track.

I think that the album cover for this album suits it well since Heatwave has a rather moody and dark industrial feel to it. There are quite a few instances that feature repetitive music sections which remind me of a factory setting. This sets a very direct mood for the music that non of the previous albums had. I mentioned in my review of Heresie that the album took me to entirely new places every time I listened to it. This is unfortunately not the case with Heatwave because the music here restricts itself to one specific setting and keeps me there for the duration of the album.

The opening album-titled composition is slightly above the rest of material especially towards its final section where the clarinet plays an up-tempo melody that the rest of the band follow. Still it fades in comparison to all of the previous Univers Zero openers which literally blow it out of the water by their sheer force.

In retrospect it was a very wise decision from Daniel to dismiss the band after this album since his efforts here were below standard and I believe that he was considerate enough to acknowledge it himself. This definitely shows strong leadership skill on his part which can only be matched by King Crimson and Van Der Graaf Generator.

Those who like Univers Zero will find Heatwave appealing although I would strongly encourage to experience the debut album and Uzed before exploring this final frontier in Univers Zero's pre-reunion discography.

Edit: If you live in Stockholm, Sweden then you have an opportunity to borrow this CD from the library at Kulturhuset.

***** star songs: Heatwave (8:37)

**** star songs: The Funeral Plain (20:22)

*** star songs: Chinavox (4:53) Bruit Dans Les Murs (8:27)

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