I have to confess that during their initial period of activity spanning 1997 through to their going on hiatus following their appearance at the 2003 Montreaux Jazz Festival, Exeter-based band Appliance were more a group that I was generally aware of, rather than one that I actively pursued. Comprised of James Brooks (vocals / guitar), David Ireland (percussion / drums) and Michael Parker (bass / electronics), Appliance were responsible for some of the late nineties UK indie music scene’s most efficiently crafted krautrock-influenced, emerging with a series of three EPs on independent labels before going on to sign to Daniel Miller’s Mute label for the release of their 1999 debut album ‘Manual.’ Over their ensuing albums for Mute ‘Six Modular Pieces’ (2000), ‘Imperial Metric’ (2001) and ‘Are You Earthed?’ (2003), the trio’s music began to gradually shift from its initial guitar / bass / drums format to increasingly incorporate electronic elements, with the addition of synthetic textures and supplementary programmed percussion resulting in an increased lushness in their streamlined sound. Perhaps an apt description of Appliance’s later maturing sound is somewhere between the taut guitar figures of Wire and Add N To X’s propulsive homebrewed electronics (indeed, much of the band’s electronic gear was built out of salvaged objects by Parker), and indeed it’s no real surprise to discover that the trio toured with both aforementioned groups during their initial lifespan.
Seven years on from their hiatus, this lavishly packaged three disc set on RROOPP gathers together all of the material from Appliance’s three independent EPs alongside four Peel Sessions and all of their B-sides, representing something of a boon for fans hunting down the band’s often scarce early material, as well as a comprehensive overview of their career so far. Particularly noticeable upon listening to ‘Re-Conditioned’ is the trio’s keen sense of consistency; while Appliance didn’t exactly have any ‘hits’, the three discs here are marked by a constant sense of progressive refinement and evolution. There’s also a gorgeous economy to tracks such as instrumental ‘Mountains 1′, which sees burbling synthetic textures forming an ambient bed beneath angular, delayed-out guitar bends and tightly efficient drum runs, the resulting efficient fusion sitting in similar sonic territory to later period Neu! and To Rococo Rot. Elsewhere, more wistful, indie rock-oriented offerings such as ‘As Far As I Can See’ see Brook’s vaguely Bunnymen-esque vocals bleeding out against a shimmering wall of intersecting jangling guitars and shimmering electronics that sits somewhere between ‘Bends’-period Radiohead and the sort of epic yet effortless crawl in evidence on The Verve’s earlier efforts. Given that Appliance never formally ‘split up’, the music contained on ‘Re-Conditioned’ certainly bears testament to the trio’s constant vitality and inventiveness over their initial seven year run, as well as a good argument for their return to the studio / live stage. In this case, the fact that RROOPP have done such a quality job here (see the accompanying booklet with its extensive liner notes and recollections from fans /band associates) proves to be both a blessing to both diehard fans and those new to the rarer sections of Appliance’s backcatalogue.
Chris Downton
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