Martin Rev - Stigmata (2009)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Martin Rev - Clouds of Glory (1985)
Suicide - A Way of Life (1988)

Even in the discography of an artist as experimental and unique as Martin Rev's, Stigmata is a truly abstract, singular record. Entirely devoid of percussion, these songs find Rev's reverb-soaked murmurs adrift against the musical backdrop of a synthetic symphonic orchestra. I seem to remember that the discussion surrounding this album was that his wife Maria passed away while he was making it, and this might explain the alternately tender (check out the gentle "Gloria"), restless, sorrowful, and incensed emotions that seem to be all over Stigmata.

Track listing:
1. Laudamus
2. Te Deum
3. Jubilate
4. Dona Nobis Pacem
5. Gloria
6. Sanctus
7. Salve
8. Spiritus
9. Domine
10. Exultate
11. Magnum Mysterium
12. Anima Me
13. Sinbad's Voyage
14. Paradisio

Daydreams

Martin Rev - Clouds of Glory (1985)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Suicide - A Way of Life (1988)

Martin Rev was one half of bizarro-world greats Suicide. Clouds of Glory, his second solo album, consists of endlessly repeated melodic mantras, shrill sustained tones, and chaotic SFX, all (I believe) courtesy of synthesizer(s). It's like someone took an unreleased Suicide record, removed the vocal tracks, and replaced them with synth oscillations, chirps, drones, and explosions.

Track listing:
1. Rodeo
2. Clouds of Glory
3. Metatron
4. Whisper
5. Rocking Horse
6. Parade
7. Island

It's doomsday, doomsday

Suicide - A Way of Life (1988)

Look, I know, their first album is phenomenal, and absolutely deserves to be heralded as a classic, but why do so many people act like it's the only fucking Suicide album? Their other records are so good! A similar thing has happened to lots of bands -- first album is a groundbreaking classic, and no one fully gets down with anything they do afterwards -- but not to the degree of Suicide. Like, Psychocandy is the only JAMC record that gets accolades, but at least people acknowledge their other albums. (For the record, I love Darklands, Automatic, and Honey's Dead.)

Anyway, here's A Way of Life, which has sparse, electro-punk that's much in the same vein as their first record ("Wild in Blue", "Sufferin' in Vain"), an uneasy, girl group-style love song worthy of a David Lynch film ("Surrender"), a synth-driven re-imagining of Elvis-esque rock 'n roll ("Jukebox Baby 96") and an anthemic piece of driving almost electro-industrial ("Rain of Ruin"). And that's just the first half. Get your shit together, fans of awesome music.

Track listing:
1. Wild in Blue
2. Surrender
3. Jukebox Baby 96
4. Rain of Ruin
5. Sufferin' in Vain
6. Dominic Christ
7. Love so Lovely
8. Devastation
9. Heat Beat

My heart is a prison