Gnod - Chaudelande
- Written by Steven Dinnie
Gnod, as a force more than a conventional ‘band’, have been gaining momentum and infamy from their live rock/metal electronica freak-outs up and down the spine of the less reputable venues of the country. Seemingly the house band of the Islington Mill in Salford (and collecting quite a following in the process), as well as distributing at least 27 studio albums to date and starting new label Tesla Tapes. The now-legendary vinyl-only two parter Chaudelande is probably their most definitive statement, and now both halves are repackaged by the fine folks at Rocket Recordings and Cargo Records into a CD package.
In their most recent iterations in the latter half of 2012, Gnod were separating slightly from their Krautrock Gnosticism and drifting into languid electronic arenas. Chaudelande finds them in much more rhythm-oriented territory. Those already converted to the church of Gnod will be delighted to see Chaudelande in its fully-flowered form, and the package is lavish enough to bring in new worshippers too. The form is essentially six guitar-heavy trips to the holy land replete with mantric mumblings. Percussion is all, with Gnod letting forth some of their most danceable rhythms yet. Fans of guitar music from The Stooges 'Shake Appeal' to Neil Young’s mesmeric and little-heard Dead Man OST will find something appealing in the crunchy infinite repetition riffs and the almost tribal drumming extended to the point of psychological harm. Sometimes they’re slow and languid, other times the guitar rhythms are driving, but they’re always compelling. It claims to be Krautrock, but Gnod are very much outside of that now, looking in, the vibes on display here are more driving, more urgent and hold more import than the sometimes empty Kraut meditations of the seventies.
Though technically a re-release, those of us familiar with Gnod’s ultimate statement will see this as the first opportunity for many to get a handle on what is one of the most underappreciated bands of the last few years. What keeps old-hand fans coming back, and keeps new fans focused is Gnod’s steady grip on quality, throughout over an hour of this album’s running time, no song is filler and nothing is squandered. The vinyl of Chaudelande Volume One and Two has become a rarefied modern rock artefact. Gnod have entirely abandoned their early Krautrock impersonations and are going very much their own way, and Chaudelande can be considered the first album in the early days of a better world.
Chaudelande is out on February, 25 and is available from amazon