Appliance
Re-Conditioned (RROOPP)
You know the old cliche that reviewers trot out when a compilation from some obscure band comes out – “for completists only”?
This 3xCD boxed set from the English electro-ish trio is, with little exaggeration, a release that fits that cliche as well as any. “3xCD” – I already summed up the all-encompassing nature of what is, let’s face it, a pretty obscure band with, surely, a limited fanbase?
All that said, a cult is a cult, and someone out there must like them. John Peel, for one, would have been pleased to see this set appear. Disc 2 is the band’s complete Peel sessions, all four of them. And the third CD in the set gathers together the smattering of indie releases that they put out before the legendary Mute label saw fit to sign them up.
There is some overlap between the tracks, not least where the third disc, ‘B sides’, overlaps with the Radio One material, but hey, you want the complete works of Appliance?
In truth, the band were very much of their time, making a sound which fits in very much to that Stereolab/Electralane/Krautrock genre. Ok, ‘Nocturnal Walker’ borrows heavily from Joy Division’s ‘24 Hours’ and the following track, ‘Homing Devices’, threatens to turn into the Silicon Teens covering ‘Nag Nag Nag’. Those are both from the Peel sessions element of this collection, and is the one most worth delving into. But that does sum up Appliance pretty well – a pot pourri of all the good bits of experimental UK pop in the late 90s. And you’ll not be spoiled for choice.
Donald Bush
