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Portion Control
Wellcome

Posted: Tuesday, March 21, 2006
By: Ilker Yucel
Editor

When thinking back on the early days of industrial, few names come up that actually fit the description of pioneer. Throbbing Gristle, SPK, Cabaret Voltaire, and Einstürzende Neubauten are but a few of these names, along with their followers Psychic TV, Skinny Puppy, and Front Line Assembly. However, one name that belongs in this list and yet is rarely heard or mentioned is Portion Control. Since their inception in 1980, the English trio has been at odds with the times and the genre they helped to inspire. Lumped in with the EBM crowd of the '80s that included Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb; yet, Portion Control's music defied any of the conventions of EBM. Granted there were moments in their music where EBM and techno came into play, but no more so than they did for a variety of other bands bearing the industrial label. In the '90s they disappeared and changed their name to Solar Enemy. Now in the now-not-so-new millennium, Portion Control comes full circle with a double album of quality electronica and industrial that will have listeners wondering where the line is drawn between the differing genres of electronic.

The band seems to take on the theme of a butcher shop with this release; the two discs are named by their coloring: one for fat, and one for liver. The 26 tracks are divided into four categories: beef, mutton, veal, and viscose. The actual case even resembles a butcher's cutting board. As to what this theme has to do with the music is anybody's guess, but it does very little to detract from the listening experience; and what an experience it is. The music on this album runs the gamut from EBM to experimental industrial to abstract techno and back. Listening from beginning to end, one gets the sense of a soundtrack (a notion supported by the band referring to each track as a scene). There are moments in the music that remind of Alan Wilder's Recoil project just by the sheer cinematic scope of the music (long compositions followed by contrasting shorter vignettes). The fat disc begins with "Pure Menace," which begins with a minimal amount of ambience complemented by some flashes of orchestral music before a sparse electro-beat comes in and leads into the EBM-flavored "Intravenous." "Paralyzed," "XFrontierVanilla," and "Coma" follow the EBM route, while songs like "Shitter" and "Prime" are little more than brief excursions that segue the listener from one extreme to another. The key tracks on Wellcome are the two "Onion Jack" tracks (one on the fat disc, one on the liver), which span a total of 41 plus minutes. These tracks exemplify the Portion Control aesthetic, beginning with abstract ambience that leads into dance floor frenzy before returning to abstraction. A veritable symphony of varying degrees of electronica, the "Onion Jack" tracks represent everything Portion Control are about. Highlights on the liver disc include "Blue Man Sees Red" with its eerie atmosphere and frightening effects, "Earl of Kennington" with its thumping beats and trance-like sequences, and "Lozenge" with its groovy bass.

Listening to Wellcome, it's a wonder Portion Control were never as widely received as their contemporaries; yet, it's also easy to understand why. No track on these CDs is ever straightforward or conventional in their structure. A scene can start with a wash of airy synths and end with a cacophony of break beats and vocoded samples. What could sound like a typical EBM track can end up becoming an experiment in minimalism. With so many genres covered across each track on these two CDs, it makes for a disjointed and schizophrenic listen. Yet, that is part of Portion Control's appeal; they break down the barriers between styles of electronic music and mold it all into a unique mélange that even the great Coil can barely hold a candle to. Never ones to rely on standards or comfort, Portion Control have created a masterpiece of a double album that encompasses everything good about electronic music. While the constantly diverging styles can cause some tension for the listener, Portion Control thrives on this tension and always come out with a surprise or two. Having inspired the likes of Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, and even VNV Nation, Portion Control's Wellcome is indeed a welcome return to the adventurous spirit of old school industrial and electronic that has been missing for some time.