Review: Ecstatic Crisis by Illusion of Safety
12/2/2024 Illusion of Safety - Ecsatic Crisis
(1986, Complacency)
Sitting down today with a youtube rip of the first tape by Chicago-based experimental ensemble Illusion of Safety. This band is and was led By Dan Burke who I believe is the only constant member. I learned about this project on an episode of the Noisextra podcast but remember little of the band’s history. I know Burke is still active with this project and just a couple months ago had a performance at Elastic Arts. I couldn’t go that night I was seeing a rock band as I recall. Would love to catch an Illusion set someday tho, I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled.
The first track on this ‘tape,’ “Directed Action” is quite striking for how 80’s it sounds. Even in the world of noise and experimental, 80’s music is very identifiable. The track is interesting and the foundational pads sound great but I don’t love the synth bass hits or the pitched up vocals for whatever reason. I feel like it might just not be my thing, the sort of esoteric spoken word noise stuff. Track 2, “Ceraunoscopy” is a little more to my liking. Metal clangs that spin off into the distance and a loop that sounds like a church choir filtered through a long tunnel really cool stuff.
IOS was certainly interested in tape loops, and some instances on this record are more successful than others. The sampling of voices additionally I don’t find to be particularly strong, and sort of ruin the experience of hearing the loop beneath track A4 “Anger and Hatred are Very Powerful Emotions”
Jim Haynes notes of this group on his notes for Crisis’ reissue the band’s focus on “The queasy and troubling interface between man and machine,” which helps me put this into some perspective. It’s a powerful idea, and one that is at the core of industrial music. Of course it will go on to be explored in the 38 years since this tape’s release. I’d be curious to hear this tape at that time, or even check it out without having listened to the likes of Aaron Dilloway and Sewer Election.
Track A5 “Music W/Out a Film II” has a number of interesting elements and a sort of slap bass line is introduced halfway through that is Seinfeldian to say the least.
Something very cool about that Haynes notes is Burke’s sort of shuffling of members throughout the early years of the project. Jim O’Rourke was involved for a time, I’ll have to check out some of these records. IOS is a bit like a Chicago industrial Jazz Messengers.
This music certainly does sound ‘industrial.’ Sounds of windy sheet metal. Lonely mechanical echoes. It sounds like the city, but an ancient vision of an abandoned future. Industrial films come to mind. Track A6, “Confusion” (easily the strongest thus far) could certainly function on the soundtrack of a movie like Eraserhead, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, or Pi. There’s a sense of noir, but a grim dystopic feeling is even stronger. Only one of those films predates this tape, but one can still wonder if experimental cinema was an inspiration on Burke & co. “Music W/Out a Film II” seems to even suggest this. Also, I love a part 2 with no part 1, so big points for that move
As we settle into the B side of this tape, religion becomes clearer as a strong theme on this release. Many samples of televangelists and comparisons of holy rollers to certain sexual spasms are present here. Idk why.
Toneline 3 was great, really solid track. And its follow up, B5, “Dedicated to… Well, That Seems Rather Obvious” is a strange one too. Recontextualizing other songs and sampling lyrics to create a love song of a very strange sort. Almost reminds me of Oneohtrix a bit. Looping musical elements in a way that sounds like music but still far from traditional or even in a standard meter.
I think my biggest critique of this album so far is that I wish it could be tightened up. Some strong and interesting ideas alongside some tracks that just sound a bit half-baked and pretty dated. 1 hour and 1 minute is long for any project and I’ve found myself growing distracted more than once. But perhaps no one is to blame for that but me.
This release is certainly aptly titled, I will say
