Still Life

Besides the Alaska album, Northern Picture Library released a slew of EPs during their brief existence, handily collected some years later on the Still Life compilation via Vinyl Japan. Instead of simply reproducing the original running order, the three efforts are recompiled, in ways making it a stand-alone album. The lingering influences from the Field Mice come across perfectly clear from the start -- "Here to Stay" has all the synth-based gentle drama one could want from New Order obsessives who were also open romantics. Robert Wratten and Annemari Davies split the lead vocals pretty evenly throughout, though Davies has the better voice for the music, quietly passionate and well-suited for the arrangements. Certainly Still Life makes clear that Northern Picture Library was a driftier, more electronic experience, but the sweet guitar twang on the excellent "Northern Windmills" and the ringing crunch of "Paris" demonstrate more of the connections to the past. The seemingly out-of-nowhere cover of the United States of America's "Love Song for the Dead Che" gets presented in both takes. The second one comes first on the disc, effortlessly transformed into a modern Claudine Longet ballad with crisp rhythm hits and soothing synths, while the first version comes out swinging with near-industrial level breakbeats to contrast with calmer verses. The whole collection produces such a consistently excellent mood it's hard to single out key tracks, but keep an ear out for "Untitled No. 3," with its core one-note motif, simple yet devastatingly sad and distant, and the majestic "Breaking," feedback sculpted into dramatic melancholia worthy of Slowdive. Guest cello work by Gemma Townley on "Last September's Farewell Kiss" and "Signs" adds just enough further atmosphere to both songs without being overbearing -- the shifts on the former song to a sudden, thrilling feedback surge in particular make it a winner. ~ Ned Raggett|