Failure Reviews
Failure Reviews | |
Progressive Newsletter (German)
This insightful review was included in issue 29 of Progression magazine:
Herb Heinz says on the back of his CD cover that "I have set out to fail: My objective is to try to communicate the notion of trying to communicate and failing. And failing. Or perhaps the other way around. Clearly that's not what I mean. Thank you for your patronage.." Hmm. Kinda like the scene in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken where Don Knotts is trying tto make a speech at a town picnic and keeps getting lost in his own peculiar logic. After a few aborted attempts, all he can do is repeat"Let me clarify this." Fortunately, Heinz applies enough madcap wit and sonic imagination to his project that clarity becomes a secondary concern. Or something like that.
Over lonely, spooky electronics, Herb begins the disc with the words "Going downtown/boring deep/looking for something/I can't keep," and you get the distinct sense that he's referring to the dark streets of his mind, that the something he's looking for just might be his sanity. Heinz' music has the arty, slightly irritating air of the later products of the SST label, or some of the downtown New York Knitting Factory crowd. But, breathe that air deeply for awhile, and you realize that there's more to this stuff than meets the jaded ears.
"Blood" and "Song of Songs" have a nice prog-rock feel, with floaty guitar arpeggios, wispy sound effects, percussive organ chords, and weird little segments that function as dream sequences. The title cut conjures images of the climactic party scene in the cult classic Carnival of Souls, where the undead slow-dance, swaying to the music ...until Heinz snaps into a triumphant, uptempo assertion of the Self.
Heinz produces most of the impressive array of sounds on Failure, whith help from Joel Davel's drum pads and percussion and Amy X Neuburg's haunting vocals on five tracks. For those with a taste for the 100-percent weird, this one's a blast. - Larry Nai
The October 1998 issue of Keyboard Magazine included the following review:
Heinz gets down 'n' dissonant with this excellent independent release, which lies somewhere between Gothic, new wave, and '70s prog rock. Characterized by changing textures (both pleasant and pleasantly harsh), multiple time signatures, and funky, polyphonic writing, Failure clearly succeeds. The instrumentals are dominated by eerie synth pads, clav and bell timbres, and distorted bass and guitar reminiscent of King Crimson. Heinz's vocals range from monotone speech effects to complex melodies, and my favorite track, "Not What I Wanted," shows a sense of humor as quirky as the music. The production sounds like a home digital studio (i.e. a bit below commercial standards), but the quality of the compositions shines through. - Dan Barrett
Berkeley's East Bay Express printed this description:
Celebrating his "Failure," or at least his delightfully creepy new CD by that name, Heinz keeps listeners on their toes with dramatic and quirky sonic labyrinths, suddenly shifting between creepy lullaby melodies and jerky Zappaesque rock, fraught with experimental twiddlings, neurotic spiels, predatory guitars, and dreamy synth undertow. - Sam Hurwitt
The San Francisco Bay Guardian had this to say:
Known for his processed and Midi-enhanced guitar work in Amy X Neuburg & Men, Herb Heinz calls his new CD Failure, as in "What we have here is a failure to communicate." Aided by Neuburg & Men percussionist Joel Davel, what he has come up with is a triumph of paranoid electronic pop for fans of prog rock, Frank Zappa, and Eraserhead. All manner of sounds ping-pong between your speakers as Heinz sings about "False Images," "Fame," and of course, "Failure." - Derk Richardson
Issue 28 of Rubberneck from England said:
Heinz is, of course, a member of Amy X Neuburg's group (see review in Rubberneck 24, where else?). Based on a self-referrential concept, this CD sports quirky vocals, tasty guitars, and drum machine 'fractured" grooves that never settle for long. Almost-pop to Hammillian climates, Failure covers a lot of ground. On first hearing unassuming, an intriguing work that, given time, definitely grows on you. Will Failure succeed? - Giuseppe Colli
And here's a review of Herb's 3-song preview tape from England's Organ magazine:
HERB HEINZ, guitar player with Amy X Neuburg & Men has this brilliant tape of soothingly silky bendy jumpy pronk. It's a full on, unpredictable awkward time signature fest that's so easy on the ear but never ever boring, you just don't know where these people are going... I guess it's vaguely a Zappa thing but then that's only because it's so unobvious but still so easy, nothing hard boiled... there's some wonderfully triumphant, spiraling, progressive adventure that comes in somewhere near "Trick of the Tail" period Genesis or early IQ grafted beautifully to the soothing side of Belle & Sebastian... it's never ever obvious, there's some lush, rich texture here, warm inviting keyboard...
Italy's Blow Up Magazine printed this rather Italian review:
Herb Heinz e ovviamente conosciuto quale chitarrista e voce dei Men, gruppo accompagnagnatore di Amy X Neuburg (come, chi e? D'accordo, ricominciamo). Failure - titolo e concetto autoreferenziali (fare riferimento alla copertina di Go 2 degli XTC) - e un album di conzoni espanse: ritmi spezzati e intricati, voci sovrapposte e a piani intersecantisi, con a tratti un tocco pop (Blood, Beautiful Thing) che ricorda Amy X (aridaje!), mentre la solennita di False Images rimanda all'Hammill sperimentale di PH7 e Song of Songs sembra puntare verso certi News From Babel riletti alla luce di nuove asprezze (ma sono riferimenti di comodo: l'estetica che sta alla base di questo disco e profondamente americana). Chitarre essenziali e intelligenti, a tratti discretamente incavolate. Chi ama i Non Credo gustera questo disco, apparentemente piccolo e di poche ambizioni ma in realta frutto di intelligenza non appariscente. Annunciata distribuzione europa da parte della Recommended Records. - Beppe Colli
Colossus Magazine from Finland used these (Finnish) words:
Herb Heinz on outo jenkki, jonka levy rullaa eteenpäin sekoitellen kaikkea mahdollista omituista tavaraa sangen kiehtovasti. Tempo on melko rauhaisa, laulu on ajoittain melodista juttelua kuten Zappalla oli tapana tehdä ja välillä kundi laulaa itsensä kanssa moninkertaista stemmaa. Kitara pysyy hyvin miehen kädessä ulvoen ajoittain räkäsoundeilla, toisinaan kuullaan zappamaista funksekoilua ja sitten taas jotakin sellaista musiikia, johon ainakaan minulla ei ole tarjolla mitään määritelmää. Muu bändi on erittäin asiallinen, mutta mies patteriston takaa soittaa kuin ylikellotettu rumpukone terävillä futusoundeilla, lieneekö moisia raitoja sekvensoitu jälkikäteen? Muut soittajat ovat sitten täysin kohdallaan soittonsa ja soundiensa puolesta.
Herbin levy on todella kokeellinen ja ehdottomasti tämänkertaisen pakan oudoin levy. Ehkäpä juuri siksi niin mielenkiintoinen. Jos luulet jo kuulleesi kaiken mitä nykymusiikissa on tarjottavaa niin tässä olisi sitten aivan jotakin muuta erilaista. - Jyrki Ollinen
Germany's Progressive Newsletter said this German stuff:
Herb Heinz sieht im Titel seines Album "Failure" (=Versagen) sein Programm. Wenn er versagen sollte, dann wird er Erfolg beim Versagen haben, was wiederum bedeutet, dass er nicht versagt hat. Wem dieses paradoxe Einleitung schon etwas komisch vorkommt, der kann bereits erahnen, wie paradox auch die Musik von Heinz Herb ist.
Auf "Failure" gibt es tiefschürfende Texte, psychotische Klänge, die irgendwo zwischen Robert Fripp, Talking Heads und zappaesken Momente hin- und herschwanken, die aber dennoch ungewohnt zugänglich, aber keineswegs eingängig sind. Wave, R.I.O., Progressive Rock setzen die stilistischen Merkmale in einem Labyrinth der Klänge, wobei Gitarre und elektronische Schnipsel immer wieder in schrägen Einzelpassagen den Ausbruch versuchen, der Sprechgesang steht dem kontrapunktiv gegenüber und gibt der Musik Erzählcharakter. Erinnerungen, an die leider schon nach einem Album auseinandergegangenen Industrial Soup werden stellenweise wach.
"Failure" hat den
Touch des Intellektuellen, der unlogischen Logik, die den Zuhörer sowohl
im Kopf, als auch im Bauch ansprechen möchte. Man muss sich auf so etwas
einlassen, um es zu mögen. Mein Intellekt hat es jedoch sehr schwer sich
hier durchzusetzen, andere mögen mehr Erfolg haben. Ich habe versagt oder
doch nicht?! - KS
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