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Rectoplasm
Lemuria! (Songs from a Sunken Continent)
Posted: Thursday, May 08, 2008
By: Trubie Turner
By: Trubie Turner
A tongue-in-cheek experimental concept album that is likely only funny to its creator.
Touted as "a contemporary recreation of the music of the sunken continent of Lemuria using present-day studio technology," Lemuria! (Songs from a Sunken Continent) is a largely instrumental album of ambient noise that only manages to test the patience of its listener. From the abundant information supplied by the liner notes, it is obvious that a significant amount of thought and creativity went into the creation of the story behind the album; it's simply a shame the same amount of thought and effort didn't go into the creation of the music. Though aiming for the same Zappa-esque quirkiness of acts such as The Residents, Rectoplasm's charm does not extend beyond their packaging.
Obviously drawing much of their inspiration from seminal The Residents album Eskimo, Rectoplasm turns to the lost continent of Lumeria rather than the Arctic. However, where Eskimo's farce is almost believable despite its inherent silliness, Lumeria!'s takes absolutely no semblance of being truly music of a lost culture and is largely just a collection of uninteresting noise. Even reading the liner notes that supply descriptions for what the various tracks are meant to represent does not aid the illusion in the slightest. In a rather ironic attempt at an ending joke, the album ends with the summary track "Hypnobruxism (Salvation of the Witless)," which is meant to be a hypnosis session that ends by telling the listener to not believe everything they hear, "especially new-age crap." If Rectoplasm had done anything to build the illusion of this album in its music, it may have been an effective gag ending, but as it stands, it feels like being told a bad joke and then being asked, "Do you get it?" Lemuria! (Songs from a Sunken Continent) may still find some love with the art-house crew who can find genius in the obnoxious, but unlike many of the experimental albums of their peers, Rectoplasm's Lemuria! is lacking in charm, conjures no imagery whatsoever, and quite simply isn't the slightest bit enjoyable to listen to.
Obviously drawing much of their inspiration from seminal The Residents album Eskimo, Rectoplasm turns to the lost continent of Lumeria rather than the Arctic. However, where Eskimo's farce is almost believable despite its inherent silliness, Lumeria!'s takes absolutely no semblance of being truly music of a lost culture and is largely just a collection of uninteresting noise. Even reading the liner notes that supply descriptions for what the various tracks are meant to represent does not aid the illusion in the slightest. In a rather ironic attempt at an ending joke, the album ends with the summary track "Hypnobruxism (Salvation of the Witless)," which is meant to be a hypnosis session that ends by telling the listener to not believe everything they hear, "especially new-age crap." If Rectoplasm had done anything to build the illusion of this album in its music, it may have been an effective gag ending, but as it stands, it feels like being told a bad joke and then being asked, "Do you get it?" Lemuria! (Songs from a Sunken Continent) may still find some love with the art-house crew who can find genius in the obnoxious, but unlike many of the experimental albums of their peers, Rectoplasm's Lemuria! is lacking in charm, conjures no imagery whatsoever, and quite simply isn't the slightest bit enjoyable to listen to.
