We Be Echo - The Guestlist (2024)

 

Somehow this one wasn't quite clicking for me, which was puzzling given that it sounded like it should be doing something, at which point I realised I nearly always listen to We Be Echo on headphones - as we used to say in the olden days - where I'd been playing The Guestlist over speakers, almost as background. I don't know why this should make a difference but it does, and listening by my traditional means was a very different kettle of fish, specifically involving those terrifying things found at the bottom of the sea.

The Guestlist forms a wall of rhythmic sound, much like previous albums, but there's so much going on here that you really need to immerse yourself to get the full benefit. It does too much to be limited to the term industrial, although that's as good a reference point as any and is earned in this case. Where the last few albums focussed on stretching a particular formula limited mostly to bass, percussion and vocals, The Guestlist sees an expansion of the familiar palette bringing in a wider range of electronic and treated sounds, notably in the rhythm section, building up the sort of pensive moodscape in which Gristle excelled back in the day, and which is sonically descended from Kevin Thorne's work with Third Door from the Left; so, as with Third Door, if it goes places you may recognise from Throbbing Gristle (particularly the live material) it nevertheless manages to sound very much its own thing. The major progression from previous albums, given that the general mood remains more or less the same, is in the vocals, with some tracks allowed to stand as instrumental, others with vocals treated or the voice howling away beneath a fog of reverb. Somehow this gives the impression of a more rounded whole, something with a beginning and an end rather than just the latest selection of songs.

Where Do Not Switch On seemed to be the best of the reformed We Be Echo* so far, The Guestlist has gone one better, which is as it should be.

*: I realise the idea that a musical act comprised of a single individual can reform is basically fucking ridiculous, but it was the easiest way to write the sentence.