SO FAR

"So Far" is the 2nd full-length studio album by German Kraut/psychadelic/avant garde rock act Faust. The album was released through Polydor Records in 1972. Faust self-titled 1971 debut album is a wildly experimental avant garde rock album featuring electronic experiments and sound collages mixed with psychadelic rock sections. "So Far" is ultimately a very different sounding release.

"So Far" is a much more structured album and the trademark repetitive krautrock beats are much more a part of the sound on this album than they were on the crazy debut. Compared to the difficult listening experience of the debut, "So Far" is generally much more accessible. This time around it´s audible that the band employ ordinary rock instrumentation like guitars, bass, drums, keyboards/synth/organ and saxophone. The vocals are mostly chanting the same lines over and over again as if they are more an instrument than actual vocals but there are more ordinary vocal parts on the album too. The album is greatly varied and in addition to repetitive krautrock sounding tracks like "It's A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl", "So Far" and "No Harm" (which features an almost mellow symphonic prog intro), we´re also treated to a classical inspired acoustic guitar piece in "On The Way To Abamäe", the cold almost industrial sounding "Mamie Is Blue" as well as the last four tracks on the album "I've Got My Car And My TV", "Picnic On A Frozen River", "Me Lack Space..." and "...In The Spirit" which to my ears sound heavily influenced by the avant garde/experimental rock of Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention.

The musicianship are on a high level and "So Far" features a very well sounding production, which suits the music perfectly. So the album is a quality release in every way possible. "So Far" is generally a more easily accessible way to enter the world of Faust than the group´s much more challenging debut album, so if you´re new to the band, this would be a great place to start your Faust journey. This shouldn´t be misunderstood though, and compared to mainstream music "So Far" is still a very challenging release full of experimental ideas and innovative playing. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.