“Cases of Recurrence is a great compilation which depicts aptly the eclectic approaches of Jerome Froese”
1 The Speed of Snow 6:35
2 Microchannel Surfing 5:13
3 Sea Miles 5:36
4 A Cold Spell in Spring 5:51
5 Joy and Sorrow 8:10
6 Glasmenagerie 5:11
7 Delusions of Lunacy 3:58
8 Safe and Sound 4:54
9 Sprachlabor 5:54
10 Summer Light Fantastic 5:45
11 Stiff Dose 6:07
12 Origin Unknown 3:34
13 Nemo's Cello 4:40
14 Ayon-X 4:35
(DDL 76:03) (V.F.)
(Rock'n'Teutronica, Guitartronica)
If there is one point in common between the universes of Jerome Froese and that of Tangerine Dream, it is the commercial approach. Jerome loves to please his unconditional fans by offering very limited , and quite expensive, edition of EPs and singles inserted between the long gaps that separate the realization of his solo albums. And it doesn't take long for these EPs and singles to be sell out and become items of rarities, emptying the fiery wallets of his new fans that pile up year after year. Do you missed those EPs and singles made between Neptunes (2005) and Preventive Medecine (2010)? No problem then, Jerome (like daddy Froese) has thought of everything while concocting a nice compilation of his untraceable tracks with added bonus… A new track, Ayon-X, and two really untraceable tracks.
This compilation entitled CASES OF RECURRENCE, a very appropriate title, begins with The Speed of Snow and its small chime keys which dance on a stroboscopic rhythm before exploding in a heavy and intense rhythm. Guitar riffs and synth laments support these delicate harmonies of introductory arpeggios which sparkle on military drum rolls. This little jewel of the The Speed of Snow E.P. is not alone on this compilation because A Cold Spell in Spring, a good and oneiric title, and Summer Light Fantastic, a bomb on harmonies, stuff its invisible silvery grooves. Microchannel Surfing is the only track from the Radio Pluto single which is not on the Neptunes album. It's a nice obscure ballad based on tribal percussions which drums under the vapors and melodies of a melancholy synth. Nemo's Cello is a title lost in the twists and turns of the parallel universe of the Internet which is also part of the Neptunes adventure. Available only in downloadable version, this title offers a sweet ethereal ambience with sweet mermaid voices floating like waves in our dreams. A title which shows that Jerome can also do ambient music. Sea Miles is part of Precooked Munchies. This is another lively track which finds its enchantment with its astonishing sequences which roll like sequenced marbles on a half-rock half-techno structure. If the start is relatively soft, with its sequences which slide in an undulating series, the rhythm is accentuated on the heavy oscillations a bass line which precisely awakens this surprising mesh of sequences' marbles of which the clicks undulate in the echoes of percussion strikes just as much effectives. This is rhythm and harmony united in what is of more effective. Joy and Sorrow respects the patterns established by Jerome in the course of his works. The rhythm is polyphased and eventually exploded in a heavy and loud rock'n'Teutronica with powerful riffs and good harmonious solos. This compilation also offers Precooked Munchies' hidden track; Origin Unknown which is a real frenzy of bells, ringing, jingles and pulsations of which the quirky tones burst in vapors of ochre.
Glasmenagerie, from Einzelkind, is a powerful whirlwind battered savagely by percussion hits. The structure is heavy and filled with a tasty musicality which stores its harmonic streaks through the jerky riffs of its Guitartronica. The other side of this EP, Sprachlabor, is even heavier with an intro which revolves around a long string of sequences eroded by powerful reverberations which break in a curt, powerful and jerky rhythm. Delusions of Lunacy that we find on Preventive Medecine is a superb track reminiscent of the TD's years. The structure is jerky and undulates like a neurotic strobe while being bitten by wild guitar and synth solos which bypass each other on a rhythmic structure with two faces. Stiff Dose plunges even further into Preventive Medicine with a hyper jerky rhythm which pulsates fiercely on spasmodic chords and drum rolls. The Guitartronica is a furious steamroller and the percussions tear a rhythm which finally finds asylum in the ethereal breaths of an angelic choir. Finally, the new track, Ayon-X, is a faithful reflection of the recent works of Jerome Froese. The sequences whirl like fireflies in a glass carousel, tracing a melodious course which flows over a stroboscopic structure where orchestral arrangements steal the show from the timid harmonies dispersing between ethereal breaths. There is something extremely appealing about this track which is a clever marriage of the Schmoelling moods' years in Tangerine Dream and those more contemporary of Jerome Froese.
If you don't have all of these EP and singles gathered in this compilation, go get CASES OF RECURRENCE. It's a great compilation which depicts aptly the eclectic approaches of Jerome Froese. On the other hand, I don't see the necessity of loosening the cords of his grant only for Nemo's Cello and Origin Unknown, unless having a big crush on psychedelicosmic ambiences, and this even if Ayon-X is a great unreleased track...for the moment. In short, it's good, lively and essential if Precooked Munchies or The Speed of Snow or still Preventive Medicine and Einzelkind are lacking to your collection.
Sylvain Lupari (January 9th, 2013) ****¼*
Available at Jerome Froese Bandcamp