Trans Am – The Surveillance (CD)
Product Details
Washington D.C.'s Trans Am were already pushing the boundaries of what rock instrumentation could do when *Surveillance* arrived in 1998, channeling Krautrock repetition, synthesizer experimentation, and motorik groove into something that felt genuinely alien to the American underground of its moment. The band's commitment to analog process and live performance gave the record a raw physicality that set it apart from the increasingly polished indie rock of the era.
1998 : Trans Am's third studio album the Surveillance is released. The Surveillance was the first record recorded and mixed entirely by the band. At the time their home studio, the Bridge, had taken several months to build. The Surveillance was to take an equal amount of time as the band labored hard to give the recording what they call 'a dangerous quality'. What is dangerous to Trans Am? It is no noise reduction, no digital tape compression, and no computer aided editing. Instead they relied on live performances, hours of hard work, hands-on mixing, careful microphone placement, and, to quote the band, 'faith in their experimental vision.' the results are raw, sparse electronic breaks mixed with diesel-powered rock and roll. Trans Am put it in more masculine terms 'balls-to-the-wall-rockers', which perhaps better capture not only the sound but the intent.
Tracklist
UPC: 790377005424
Label: Thrill Jockey
Release Date: 3.10.98
Format: CD