Tho-So-Aa - Minus

Art Konkret

This must be about the 5th CD from the german Tho-So-Aa. After 'Epoch Pt.1' and 'Index 1.0 Coma' I was a complete fan of this project. Sadly, the in my eyes highly anticipated, yet very disappointing 'Absorb' was resold very quickly (after several tries) because his experiments with beats and loops just wasn't right for me at that time.

Two years ago the1995 tape 'Enrielle' was re-released on CD and now 'Minus' - all new material - sees the light of day. From the opening track "Introduction For A Demon" until the last notes of "Darkness" you are kept in a trance with an atmosphere which holds the midst between a release on ColdMeat Industries and maybe the more dronish, experimental side of Staalplaat

The title track has a nice layering and is maybe most like what ColdMeat could release, but there is still a kind of minamilsm in there which the Swedes wouldn't feel comfortable with.

"It's A Nightmare" is a minimal dronish approach to the feeling of living in a void. It gets really good in the secand half, when the balance is being sought between voices and other obvious vocal sounds.

The fourth track and fifth tracks are quite oposite from eachother: while "Below Peace & Happiness" almost hurts your ears from the frequencies being used, "Zero Faith Zero" tends more towards the first album of Yen Pox. Erratic sounds drowned in reverb, but in a good way so a nice aural field of atmospheres is created.

Maybe "A Perfect Collapse" is the best example why anybody who has and likes Yen Pox should get this CD. And if 'Minus' is your first Tho-So-Aa I can safely say that you will be searching bins just to get the other releases too.

The CD end with a track which will appeal to all fans of older Lustmord material. Except for that one last minute; An old radio playing some ballroom tune and for that kind of music I'ld personally rather take a CD from The Caretaker.

Maybe this review contains a bit too much names-dropping, but if any of the names are in your list of favorite bands, you definitly have to give this album a chance. You will not regret it.