TRISECTOR

This album was an entirely spontaneous purchase on my part. To tell you the truth I still don't know what I was thinking when I decided on picking up this particular release. Granted that I still to this day have not heard the reunion album Present nor the live album that followed it you would think that this erratic behavior is peculiar on my part and I agree with you, so let me be the first to cast that stone... at myself?!?

The absence of David Jackson didn't bother me one bit because his work only added a new layer to the music and as long as the powerhouse of Hammill/Banton was at work how could it possibly go wrong?

The Hurlyburly is a fun little instrumental opening that caught me off guard the first time I heard it. Definitely fun and playful, but a moody atmospheric tracks should come any minute now, right? I had to wait until The Final Reel and unfortunately felt really underwhelmed by that particular track. The song would have never made it to a regular Van Der Graaf Generator album from the 70's and mostly feels like a rehash of the good old days. This is basically the trend embedded in most of these compositions.

Generally I don't consider it a good idea of recording an album just for the sake of it but seeing that the band decided to carry on without Jackson made me assume that they still had something important to convey with this release. The truth is that there is nothing here to make Trisector memorable enough for anyone seeking new creative approach from the band. A few tracks here and there work as tributes to their previous accomplishments but there is definitely no sign of progress.

The recording still manages to keep its head above the water and the overall vibe I get from it is pleasant so there is enough material to please the fan-base but not enough to make any new recruits. Good but not essential seems to be the general conclusion and I'm sticking with the majority on this issue!

**** star songs: The Hurlyburly (4:34) Interference Patterns (3:49) Only In A Whisper (6:43) All That Before (6:26) Over The Hill (12:26) (We Are) Not Here (4:04)

*** star songs: The Final Reel (5:47) Lifetime (4:43) Drop Dead (4:44)