biomechanic
15-02-2006, 03:26 PM
Despite this album being over 10 years old, I've never really had a chance to put my thoughts and feelings about this album down on paper. Very rarely does an album come along that suits a wide range of emotions, and situations.
You listen to pop when you’re feeling good. You listen to metal when you’re angry. You listen to shoegazer when you’re feeling melancholy. You listen to Michael Jackson when you’re feeling children.
Selfless is possibly the only album I own that can pick me up when I’m down, or accompany the most perfect, awe inspiring sunrise I’ve ever seen. I can choose to focus, or to space out.
The album cover depicts a human nerve cell growing on a microchip. This is a fantastic metaphor for the style of the album. The Alesis SR-16 drum machine keeps cold, mechanical time along with the hollow, yet bowel loosening bass – while the guitars and unobtrusive samples give it a warm, organic feeling.
The stand out track on the album is Empyreal – with it’s minimal lyrical content and droning, sludgy, repetitive riff – it was a song that caught my ear whilst travelling to Sydney for my first real job interview. Walking along Milsons Point train station towards the Harbour Bridge, just as Justin Broadrick’s disembodied voice cries "Not everyone can carry the weight of the world", paradoxically, the world seemed okay. Life was good. Tracks like Xnoybis, and Body Dome Light helped inspire similar feelings.
Selfless is a dichotomy. From the artwork, to the lyrics (“I see so much, Burns my eyes/Lift your arms up, Touch the sky”), to the instruments used, to the thoughts and feelings it invokes, and to the reactions it provokes from first time listeners.
These days, I probably listen to it maybe once or twice a year. It doesn’t have quite the same impact it had when I was 18 – but it’s close – and considering how little I connect with more recent music as I get older (that’s not to say there haven’t been some killer albums recently), this one is a precious gem I’ll be keeping by my side for many years to come.
I’ve been listening to it since 11:30 this morning – and everything is okay.
Godflesh trivia:
They have appeared playing live in a movie (“Hideaway”)
Ministry, Pantera, and Metallica have listed Godflesh as an influence
Danzig and Faith No More have asked Justin to join them
Godflesh disbanded after Justin had a nervous breakdown
Matt Dillon can be seen wearing a Godflesh t-shirt in the movie “Singles”
You listen to pop when you’re feeling good. You listen to metal when you’re angry. You listen to shoegazer when you’re feeling melancholy. You listen to Michael Jackson when you’re feeling children.
Selfless is possibly the only album I own that can pick me up when I’m down, or accompany the most perfect, awe inspiring sunrise I’ve ever seen. I can choose to focus, or to space out.
The album cover depicts a human nerve cell growing on a microchip. This is a fantastic metaphor for the style of the album. The Alesis SR-16 drum machine keeps cold, mechanical time along with the hollow, yet bowel loosening bass – while the guitars and unobtrusive samples give it a warm, organic feeling.
The stand out track on the album is Empyreal – with it’s minimal lyrical content and droning, sludgy, repetitive riff – it was a song that caught my ear whilst travelling to Sydney for my first real job interview. Walking along Milsons Point train station towards the Harbour Bridge, just as Justin Broadrick’s disembodied voice cries "Not everyone can carry the weight of the world", paradoxically, the world seemed okay. Life was good. Tracks like Xnoybis, and Body Dome Light helped inspire similar feelings.
Selfless is a dichotomy. From the artwork, to the lyrics (“I see so much, Burns my eyes/Lift your arms up, Touch the sky”), to the instruments used, to the thoughts and feelings it invokes, and to the reactions it provokes from first time listeners.
These days, I probably listen to it maybe once or twice a year. It doesn’t have quite the same impact it had when I was 18 – but it’s close – and considering how little I connect with more recent music as I get older (that’s not to say there haven’t been some killer albums recently), this one is a precious gem I’ll be keeping by my side for many years to come.
I’ve been listening to it since 11:30 this morning – and everything is okay.
Godflesh trivia:
They have appeared playing live in a movie (“Hideaway”)
Ministry, Pantera, and Metallica have listed Godflesh as an influence
Danzig and Faith No More have asked Justin to join them
Godflesh disbanded after Justin had a nervous breakdown
Matt Dillon can be seen wearing a Godflesh t-shirt in the movie “Singles”