Track Listing

1. The Hurlyblurly
2. Interference Patterns
3. The Final Reel
4. Lifetime
5. Drop Dead
6. Only In A Whisper
7. All That Before
8. Over The Hill
9. (We Are) Not Here

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37857 in Music
• Released on: 2008-04-01
• Number of discs: 1

Album Description
Following on from the 2005 album 'Present', Van Der Graaf Generator have put together a brand new album that will be released on 17th March 2008 titled 'Trisector'. Van Der Graaf Generator now a stripped-down trio of original 1968 members Hugh Banton (organ), Guy Evans (drums) and Peter Hammill (vox, guitar, piano), made a storming return to live performance in the spring of 2007. The band started recording their new album in July 2007, after a period of mixing and overdubbing 'Trisector' is now ready for release. There are nine pieces on the album, one of them instrumental. Unusually for VDGG, only one of these is more than ten minutes long - indeed, five come in at under five minutes. There are, of course, passages of great complexity but there's also a confidence about the group which allows them to leave some simple things as they are.

Customer Reviews

Another Volume from the Autumn of Genius
Most bands that just keep going on (or reappear after an extended hiatus) often seem like they're doing little more than cashing in on their used-to-bes. The energy and compositions of this disc (just as committed, if not as epic) suggest something more is at work for this trio. Certainly, more of Hammill's extended reflections on the existential condition of aging continue to make his lyrics some of the most compelling and effective around, but the (sometimes) ferocity of the music itself reads and feels like the same kind of hopeful defiance that marked, say, "Still Life," and "Childlike Faith in Childhood's End." Not to give credit only to Hammill for the disc, still I think it's to his credit (and the rest of his bandmates) to see that that vision, defiance, and steadfast staring into the abyss of the end of one's life couldn't be played or composed by him by himself anymore--he needed Guy Evans' sensibility on drums, and Hugh Banton's prodigious ability on keyboard.

But having said all that, how is the disc?

"The Hurlyburly," at 4'38", opens the album with train noises, tuning up, and the band fiddling around on their instruments before dropping into a straightforward, instrumental rocker. In all, it sounds more like a somewhat lazy, amped up jam session; in particular, the "looseness" that characterizes much of Hammill's solo guitar playing sounds sloppy, hesitant, or simply too repetitious. Not a very promising start, but the piece is short, and when not listened to closely fills up the background well enough.

"Interference Patterns," at 3'52", provides a 1000% contrast, opening with a broken up, linear keyboard line that sounds like a handsome hello backward to Gentle Giant. Bass joins the keyboard pattern, which squirrels back and forth between two different time signatures, as Hammill begins to bend and twist his typically intelligent lyrics to fit the keyboard pattern--itself creating a kind of interference pattern. At this point, it's already clear that this song will get an immediate second playing, but then at 1'42", suddenly the music erupts into a crazy multidirectional keyboard carnival, hectic doubled notes and drums thrumming out. A stand-out track that already makes the disc worth buying.

"The Final Reel," at 5'49", is a gentle, somewhat bleak narrative about a worn out Jack and Jill, who see their time has come and decide to skip the final reel, as it were. This is a slow building song, the moves almost imperceptibly from a kind of loungy-beginning, to a jagged, harmonically knotted up finish. If Hammill had any doubts about calling up his old bandmates to help out with more music, this song should put it to rest--it's very easy to hear the Hammill-solo version here, ably and cunningly fleshed out by Evans' and Banton's considerable musical experience and insight.

"Lifetime," at 4'47", is the only Hammill-only composed song. Again, one can hear the Hammill vs. VDGG contrast easily; Hammill's lyrics float in the middle, noodling a bit on guitar, while lush keyboard accompaniments provide a boundary and a cushion for that, and Evans simply sits on his high-hat, until the more expansive coda that rounds out the song. Pretty, serviceable, the sedate moodiness of this piece makes it sink somewhat into obscurity.

"Drop Dead," at 4'52", gronks out a fuzzy guitar line to chase off any indolence leftover from the last piece, and drops square into another straight-forward jam-session sounding rocker. Certainly, the super-energetic bass line here (apparently by Banton), the way the keyboard solo(s) are layered from foreground to background, and the petering out of the ending is not without interest, but this is another piece that tends to fare best as background music.

"Only in a Whisper," at 6'44", balances bright cymbally drums against lightly "plucked" keyboards with Hammill's slightly reverbed voice gradually howling in the center of things. As with "Lifetime," there's an intriguing kind of disconnect between the vocals and the music; like Bowie's "Station to Station," the intersection of the music and the vocals is pretty tenuous--Hammill croons and wails fluidly, while Banton and Evans put out jangly, snappy music. At least until toward the end, when the vocals reverb even more and the music melts along with it. Perhaps a set up to ...

"All that Before," at 6'29", comes thrashing like some kind of royal caravan right through the proceeding mood, slow rising arpeggios, and power chords setting a powerful and immediate impression. This introduction then drops into a driving, rhythmic keyboard riff that seems vaguely like "Interference Pattern," (in part for the way Hammill wittily mashes his syllables into the limited space of the time signature. The topic is a fairly hilarious take on impending senescence.) But then, 57 seconds into the piece,, the theme is restated with massive guitar backing, and the piece takes on epic overtones. The riff returns again at 1'41," with keyboards to add to the aggressiveness. Then, even sweeter, keyboard and guitar solos start floating over the top of the main riff, sliding howling lyrics, the opening riff into the mix as well ... And the song is only half done. There's absolutely no question here that the band massively overindulges in repeating this riff; they go back to it no less than a million times, and I don't care. Consider that these guys are pushing 60, and it is clear how this song is THE anthem telling death it can just f* off and wait. All the better that it's about impending dementia then ... the end even melts away and apart, with trebly keyboards a la the earliest VDGG, and even Hammill's now ages-old wondering "Who am I". Has a very different ring now, than at 20.

"Over the Hill," at 12'29", is the obvious compositional epic, still exploring the effects of time. Opening with a classic VDGG organ, vocals, drum arrangement, a few skittery disjointed notes taunt of bridges to come before returning to the opening mood again. At 3'21", the edgy keyboard lines return and finally accelerate, only to simply pass away after two minutes with a restatement of the opening music in a much more symphonic vein briefly. A moodier bit in piano, bass, and drums eases along for a bit, giving way to another restatement, that itself is shredded to pieces by a heavy, rabid skysaw of a line. They could have kept that up for longer as well, but it halts and returns to the opening them yet again. (If the description sounds a bit piecemeal, the piece is too; the parts don't seem to hang together implicitly). Things build, becoming grand (and even sounding a bit like Radiohead for a moment) before trailing off--a proper sense of somberness returning.

"(We Are) Not Here," at 4'04", booms out with another jagged, linear keyboard line in a varied time signature, with Hammill's voice rising up and floating over the top with a broodingness that the rest of the album has not had. (It wasn't necessarily missed though.) Ghostly foreshadowings accompany the vocals, then at 2 minutes, whole choruses of smooth, high harmonized voices counterpoint the main vocal, adding to the eeriness of the piece. (This is definitely a vocal extravaganza, as the rest of the album has not been.) At 3 minutes, the choir of voices takes over ... the music breaks apart, and the train sounds return to close out the disc. Another stand-out piece.

In all, a very solid disc, though I find that the stronger pieces make the rockers or more sedate pieces seem tepid by comparison. But even if I had to program out everything but "Interference," "All that Before," "Over the Hill," and "(We Are) Not Here" the disc would be well worth it. Definitely glad I got it.

VdGG and Peter Hammill does it again
Always a little offbeat, melodramatic, and "dark" VdGG to most of us that have followed them to be one of the most stimulating bands ever.

So, they are around 60 years old and still producing the best "growling," innovative tunes ever. This latest release, TriSector, is no different. I really was upset that David Jackson was no longer with them but I can't think when I've heard music so full with just three musicians.

In fact, some of the moods that I felt when I first heard Pawn Hearts and H2He have come back. Please, VdGG, tour in the states with King Crimson, Tool, ANYBODY!

The best Van Der Graaf Generator album in years
Having followed the band since the early 70's, I couldn't be happier about the developments of the past few years. It seems as if Hammill's heart attack was the galvanizing spark that breathed new life into what had become little more than a memory of a once great band.
The reunion concert captured on Real Time(wish I'd been there...)amazed me with it's confident swagger and muscular playing. Rather than sounding like a nostalgic indulgence the songs felt contemporary and exciting, as if they extracted the DNA of the music and made it anew.
All of which leads me to this album with it's stripped down line-up - sans Jaxon which would lead you to expect a somehow diminished sound - and wow, they've done it again, mixing new colors out of the old palette.
The songwriting is strong and varied, the melodies indelible, the band are tight and yet relaxed and I can't stop listening to it! I even love the fact that they stop Lifetime, just as it gets going - an understated nod to the possibility that life can stop at any moment? -where before they might have taken the whole song off in another direction.
Some have criticized the straight ahead rockers -Hurlyburly and Drop Dead, but personally I find it refreshing to hear the band just rockin out and having fun. That's not a word you usually associate with VDGG...
Favorite tracks -Interference Patterns and Over The Hill -both classic VDGG songs, jam packed with goodies.
If you are a long-time fan, buy this and be happy they still have the energy and commitment to keep pushing and growing.
If you've never heard them before, start with Pawn Hearts and make your way up to this, it'll make more sense that way.
Very Good Album!