Pole - 'Pole' (Mute)
4/5
By: Thomas Hannan
And you will know us by the trail of EPs. Anyone who's become accustomed to the bizarre music of Pole will understand that a conventional approach to music is not something he wastes his time with. The method goes as such - pictures are painted and then broken up, scratched, blurred, modified and let loose on their own as cryptic pieces of the overall jigsaw puzzle. 'Pole's preceding set of EPs, '45/45' and '90/90', were such pieces, and this fine album the finished artwork.
So - finally - we can analyse Pole's output as a whole instead of just making educated guesses at vague meanings behind a work in progress. And if ever an album has screamed out for in-depth, nitpicking analysis, it's this one.
From the very technique of creating the tracks, (all awash with outlandish, brushing beats, clicks and sparse instrumentation) through to the entirely abstract artwork consisting of a blurry portrait of Pole (aka Stefan Betke) that's become more focused with each appearance on the aforementioned EPs, there's a lot to get your head around.
Although previously renowned for a strict line of only playing around with electronically-bent music, 'Pole' also features Betke's first on-record experiments with real human beings. The words of rapper Fat John, whose four contributions provide the album with its standout moments, would themselves also stand up to a fair amount of examination. Take the enticing opening track and recent '90/90' highlight 'Slow Motion' for example, a composition that lyrically makes a conscious effort to deconstruct time as we know it. Other Homo sapiens make dreamlike appearances armed with the double bass and saxophone on 'Pole's strongest tracks, the album reaching its most thought-provoking moments when such human touches mean you can, to an extent, come to connect with it on a personal level.
The '45/45' EP featured instrumental forms of many of the tracks present once again on the album, with the notable addition of the likes of Fat John that cure the EP's ailment of sounding too otherworldly for its own good. But although Betke has allowed human fingerprints to dirty his minimalist clicking dub backing on many tracks, there are some 'songs' where he still adamantly refuses to do anything of the sort. Predictably, the solo likes of 'Like Rain (But Different)', where Pole lets himself quietly run riot with slow stabbing beats and - really - a duck-quack of a bass-line, are the album's least inspiring sections. But as we've come to learn from the previous fruits of his labour, it's often foolish to try and second guess this guy. For all we know, this could well only be half the story.
And here's where it can all get a bit too much. 'Pole' is, inescapably, one hell of a confusing, intimidating and, at times, cold record. No beautiful or soaring moments, no use for easy listening, no hint of even one good tune. But it's difficult to pinpoint anyone else who's doing something quite like this. It's a hard struggle, but if you're up to the challenge, coming to understand 'Pole' is a reward in itself.
Artists in this article: Pole
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