Album Review//Vision Fortune - Mas Fiestas con el Grupo Vision Fortune
I heard a second of the first song ‘XXII’ and I adored. Me Gusta. The
constant swerve of the guitar(s) and the driving, hypnotic drums throughout the
album pushes and pulls oneself to a point of dizzying euphoria, in which there
is no come down – impossible? Certainly not. This may be due to the unnerving
consistency that is delivered from start to finish. In fact, one wonders
whether all the members of Vision Fortune still have a soul remaining after
bearing witness to such an evil sounding record, as some form of shadowy deal
must have been struck up in order to create this otherworldly mass of noise.
The thick feedback-laden ‘XVI’ is a particularly intriguing moment.
Whilst listening, the soundscape manages to create vivid imagery. The subtle
changes in the tone, smoothly destroys one narrative into the next,
constructing a vast horizon of ethereal tales. It would be very lazy to comment
on the psychedelic influences that resonate out of the works, and certainly to
comment on the drug culture that goes hand in hand. That would be insulting and
very much beneath such an impressive display of tonal know how. The hallmarks
of krautrock are evident, but whereas collectives such as Faust and Can tend to
lean towards more playful and light hearted frolics, Vision Fortune are dark,
deathly and borne out of a serious desire to walk the left hand path.
‘XIV’ is a filthy cougar of a song. The bass is damn sexy. Sultry even.
To some extent, this has an all round gentler approach and if Vision Fortune
could ever be accessible, then this track has the hooks to sink into
unsuspecting victims. Not that this lowers any form of credibility on their
behalf, it only serves to increase it, as they have the ability to make
something so dangerous and somewhat experimental, yet turn it towards slightly
bigger and audiences and exclaim ‘You can have a piece of us too, we’re not
just for know-it-all elitists!’. Going back to the bass riff, it appears as
though some ragged, semi-obscure garage punk band from the 60’s – like The
Juju’s or The Keggs – have wandered through the minds of Anton LeVay, Genesis
P’Orridge and the Reid brothers all at once.
As I listen to ‘XVII’, I am pleasantly reminded of a certain Icelandic
band – Dead Skeletons. It’s all here. The pure evil; foreboding atmosphere; the
twisted, Tibetan style mantras and the layer upon layer of beautiful reverb. I
daresay, however, that the lyrics are more biting. They sound as though they
are being snarled; only I can’t completely confirm this as the actual words are
near indecipherable. Again, this is not a bad thing. A band who wears their
heart on the sleeve, leave nothing to the imagination and tend to become
tedious after a while. The mystery and intrigue that come from Vision Fortune,
is exactly what the world has been waiting for.
Reviewed by Rick Antonsson.
