SO FAR

After their accomplished expression of extravagance delivered on their debut album, the Faust combo created yet another manifestation of kraut weirdness on their sophomore release "So Far". This musical work continues on that combination of bizarre joy and rebellious humor that defines the craft of this peculiar ensemble. In this album, we have a larger number of shorter pieces, and you can also notice some nods to the mainstream roads of rock, but by no means does this mean that Faust gave up on their artistic goals of experimentation and surrealism ? mostly, what takes place in this album is a stronger focus on the elaboration of specific moods for each individual track. All in all, the group's sound bears a more robust feel, which may be perfectly due to the fact that the guitar inputs are more worked on and, subsequently, enhanced in the mix. The band's style, as a whole, has a more kaleidoscopic variety, in this way providing an unequivocal impulse to the band's eclectic disposition. 'It's a rainy day, sunshine girl' opens up the album with a joyfully poppish vibe, comfortably relying on a mechanic tribal drum pattern that serves as a sort of homage to the immediate catchiness of your regular pop song. The ostensibly silly lyrics seem to reinforce this aura, which in my mind works as a resource of parody against the pedestrian simplicity of pop music. 'On the way to Amabae' shifts to a very different area: this 2 ¾ minute long nocturne on dual acoustic guitars brings a moment of serious, ceremonious solace ? this is a lyrical facet of the band that doe not usually show. But well, things don't take too long to "go back to normal", and this is exactly what happens in 'No Harm'. This piece starts with a Gothic-like motif that states a somewhat dense motif heavily relying on the mixture of organ layers and guitar progressions. Once we get to the 3 minute mark, the track shifts to a frantic exhibition of R 'n' B-infected rock and roll with heavy-like undertones and happy psychedelia. And you really can't lose with the sort of poetry that proclaims "Daddy! Take the banana! Tomorrow is Sunday!" over and over again ? this is the sort of progressive craziness that works no one knows how. So far, this is the album's first half, and the second half starts justly with the eponymous track ? 'So far'. This piece is quite vibrant, joyful, based on a monotonous use of a jazz-rock motif punctuated by sparse horn chords and featuring a solid endeavor by the rhythm duo. The tricky presence of spacey ornaments gives it a moderately weird twist. 'Mamie is blue', despite the pop- related suspicions instilled in its title, happens to be the one with biggest leanings toward the scary side of psychedelic rock: with its menacing industrial overtones and oppressive utilization of sound effects to recycle synth and guitar effects, it provides a contrast of darkness against the easy-going vibe of the preceding number. 'I've got my car and my T.V.' retakes the happy mood of previous tracks and takes it to its most refined expression in the album: with two distinct motifs that alternate comedic ambiences and jazzy jamming, this piece is quite effective in its attempt to generate colorful, classy frivolity. With the sequence of the last three tracks we are back into Faust crazy territory: 'Picnic on a frozen river' is an exercise on minimalistic chamber, 'Me lack space?' is a snippet of radio interference and '? In the spirit' is a fake cabaret piece augmented with psychedelic effects. This is how this album ends, completing yet another picture of the definitive sonic spectrum that Faust made its own.