The fifth full-length release by Marcus Schmickler as Pluramon uses three vocalists, including Julee Cruise. This simple device allows for multiple angles of perception to be explored in different narrative voices. Allied to spellbinding production, this is a fascinating record.With Julee Cruise on vocals, the euphoric "Turn In" has a lush headiness that flies dangerously close to Fleetwood Mac 2.0. She is singing words, some of which might be harsh or rude, but the gentle swirling mix is so hypnotic that no one in their right mind would be concerned what they are. It is the shockingly blissful equivalent of cracking an egg into a pan and gazing down upon a warbling embryonic Stevie Nicks.
"Border" is a sonic cocoon, wrapped with layers of synth, percussion, and guitar similar to Mono at their most tantalizing. It features vocals by German actress Julia Hummer, though it is Schmickler himself who sings the nauseating opening lines: "This is it/This is Life/It's all right/Cos I'm in love with you/ OK/ There's beauty in breakdown". Again, the music is unflinchingly suffocating and dreamlike. Such an overwhelmingly sweet sound can only be tolerated because here and there the lyrics hint at bitterness, darkness, traps, deceit, and heartache. Schmickler has a lot of experience with beats, improvisation and choral music and he avoids making a piece of music too long, too dense, or too cloying. Consequently, The Monstrous Surplus is a wondrous balance between the enigmatic and the palatable.
The use of two similar but disparate singers reminds me of the late Bunuel film That Obscure Object of Desire where the lead role is played by two different actresses. Cruise and Hummer both have four tracks, but even with sleeve notes, discerning who sings which is not necessary to enjoy the album. This trick perhaps questions the notion of romantic love, wherein there is but one perfect match for each of us. Either that, or it might allude to the untrustworthiness of human desire in the sped-up flicker-book world of urban sprawl, wherein anyone can "fall in love" with complete strangers twice a week.
"Fishing" strongly echoes "Border" and Schmickler sings, "I was faking this shit." There may well be deceit in the recorded narrative but the phrase is also a reminder that the creative arts link the equally (un)reliable worlds of imagination and reality. A third female voice, the writer Jutta Koether, appears on "Fresh Aufhebung" and the pretty, fuzz-laden final piece, "So?" Her alluring speaking voice, reminiscent of the oddly commanding tones associated with Tarwater, adds a contrasting feeling of uneasiness to the album. At the end of "So?" she says "Beauty is a mess," but that statement is contradicted by almost all the compositions on this mysterious record. Many listens are required to unpick the puzzles buried beneath the cleverly constructed sheen of The Monstrous Surplus. It appears to tread lightly but leaves an enormous impression. Quite how the bizarre cover version of Sham 69's "If The Kids Are United" (sung by Hummer) fits in, though, I couldn't possibly say.
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