The Bait
You
may consider after reading this that the review was utter hyperbole. A
way over the top flagellation at the feet of the artist Jerome Nougaillon.
For what you may ask was this 6 minutes of music so worthy of lavish words
of praise and exultation. One word…Propergol. One word…Packaging.
One word…Everything.
Propergol. One of my favourite acts of all time. Still no sign of the
re-releases of earlier recordings yet. Damn. Every release by Propergol
should be in your collection and coveted. This man. This guru. This genius
of power electronics continually refines / defines the genre with every
release. He is…and will remain…the colossus yet to be toppled.
Vargtimmen is his new side project. A project so far removed from the
noise of Propergol that if his name wasn’t there on the Hermetique
website or packaging you would scarcely believe it. Put all your previous
experiences of Propergol in a bag and kick it away under the bed. "The
Bait" is 6 minutes of the most exquisite and elegant music that ranks
with the greatest pieces ever recorded. Taking a simple approach of melancholy
strummed guitar and placing it alongside dreamy startling electronics
with a customary frantic sample the music floats in an ethereal way. So
stunning in execution and quite literally beautiful and haunting
.
Packaging. I’ve seen some pretty fine examples of packaging in my
time but this tops everything so far. Housed in a credit card size wallet
the small plastic case opens up to reveal a 3" CD cut to shape to
fit the box. Pictures of a graveyard with row upon row of crosses and
a smoke filled sky adorn the outside and inside. These pictures can be
downloaded as wallpaper from the Hermetique website. Extravagant and unique…I’ve
never seen anything like comparable before…it just shows the care
and attention to detail that adds an empathy to the recording.
Everything. The music and packaging makes for one fantastic experience
visually and aurally. My only quibble would be that the music ended far
too soon and a full length recording must surely be on the cards for the
future. Please. Fans of Propergol may be surprised…even shocked…at
this change in musical direction by Jerome. I don’t go with that.
He’s to be applauded…nay lauded…for this release. Free
from the shackles of the noise associated with Propergol he’s allowed
himself artistic reign to produce this mini masterpiece. And if you don’t
agree with my words after buying it…which common sense dictates
you will…then there’s really no hope for you and you have
my unmitigated pity.
ANM