(2021) Bailter Space - Wammo (1995, Remastered)


Review:
Formed in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1987 as Nelsh Bailter Space, the band’s musical family tree touches on some of the nation’s most revered weirdo luminaries – including Flying Nun mainstays like the Skeptics, the Clean, and the Gordons. Bailter Space (aka bailterspace) embraced chaos, but celebrated precision, finding melody amid networks of brooding noise and feedback. After relocating to New York City, the band – who by then included Alister Parker, John Halvorsen, and Brent McLachlan – arrived on Matador in in time for the US release of Robot World (1993). Wammo was the trio’s third and final full-length with the label (their fifth album overall) and was among its most tuneful efforts (relatively speaking!). On Wammo, Bailter Space find themselves in that uncomfortable place where what was once fresh and inspiring now starts to feel a little more repetitious and a little less special. By no means is the album a washout, but striking new fusions and changes don’t leap to the fore as frequently as they used to. When they do emerge, they’re quite welcome, but not as striking as they could be; for example, Parker’s high-register singing on “Splat” is quite catchy in the verses, but the song itself isn’t as special as the group’s earlier work. If anything, Bailter Space are starting to sound more like a “normal” rock band. They’re a good one, to be sure, but the slight retreat from the complexity and studio effects of earlier records makes them a bit less distinct as a result, as does the newfound clarity in Parker’s vocals. However, if the intent was to capture the strengths of the group with a more live sound, then the result is success. “At Five We Drive” is another great Bailter brawler, with some especially fine work by McLachlan on drums. McLachlan’s motorik-inspired work flows as always on songs like “Colours” (Parker’s edgy guitar feedback and spikes are equally fine here) and the similar “D Thing,” which helps close Wammo on a high note. If nothing else, the group still have an unerring knack for choosing singles: “Retro” features some of Parker’s all-time best sociopolitical lyrics. — AMG





Track Listing:
1.Untied 03:33
2.Splat 03:53
3.At Five We Drive 03:10
4.Zapped 02:15
5.Colours 04:01
6.Retro 04:30
7.Glimmer 04:10
8.Voltage 04:39
9.D Thing 06:32
10.Wammo 02:26


Media Report:
Genre: indie-rock
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits