Paul posted about Disappears some time ago, and its one band that I have latched on to ever since. The Chicago motoriksters brought an amazing debut in Lux, and have wasted no time in delivering their second LP, Guider - and it builds on the promise. There is a determined shift in perspective and focus here though - there is much more of a chugging rhythmic unrest here, the band preferring to create a maelstrom of sound that keeps the listener in the eye of the storm whilst the noise swirls around them. The added drumming nous of SY skinsman Steve Shelley notwithstanding, Disappears have fully embraced their krautrock roots (which could also do with the fact that Neu! frontman Michael Rother chose them especially to mark out their midwestern US tours) and married it to their ambitious beginnings, and the result may not be as immediately engaging as Lux, yet for me I was in love from the get go. Most tracks here are succinct, showing a levelheaded approach to their transitional move in musical mastery, ensuring that every ounce of effort is wrung out of each track...that is, until we hit 'Revisiting', a 16 minute epic that proves that you can be more angsty and ferocious if you dial down the speed and ratchet up the tension inherent with a slowly escalating fist of sound. As its half the album's length give or take a couple minutes, 'Revisiting' becomes the flipside, the gaps in between the tightening of the coil just as important as the propulsive rhythms that are constantly at play. All in all, Guider is a very good release, and should help to heighten the band's cult status, their mystique, and the burbling excitement as to where Disappears will disappear to next.
Guider is out now through Kranky Records. They are touring Europe in February, culminating with a London show on the 22nd, so get your tix asap.
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