Bill Rieflin & Chris Connelly

Largo (First World Music)
by Lex Marburger

This was not what I expected… I mean, you take some guys from Ministry and Revolting Cocks, Bill Rieflin and Chris Connelly, who’ve more recently put out a twisted art-industrial Frippian album (Birth of a Giant) and a post-post-post-punk masterpiece (The Damage Manual’s self-titled debut) respectively. They come together, and instead of guitars, you get cello. Instead of bass, you get piano. Instead of drums, you get a metronome. Instead of screams and howls, you get Connelly’s best Bowie-croon impersonation. At times, Largo practically sounds easy listening. This unexpected approach delighted me to the point that I didn’t even mind a chorus of “I keep a close watch on this heart of mine.” I mean, here’s something to freak out the kids. All signs point to mayhem, but you get a bouquet of lilies instead. The album itself, well… it’s a little patchy, incomplete, like a scratch demo to pave the way for further arrangement. What’s worse, after the initial shock dissipates, the album begins to sound a little like Rozz Williams’ late-era, post-smack recordings. Largo is a good kick in the pants to the noise and rivet heads, but it could use the help of an outside agent… perhaps Brian Eno. Now there would be an album.
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