She and Me Fall Together in Free Death

On the cover of this Nurse with Wound LP, She and Me Fall Together in Free Death, a sad-looking teddy bear stares at us through wire netting. It's a striking image for a striking title, but the music itself offers a comfortable blend of Krautrock and sound experiments. Side one is filled by "She and Me Fall Together Like Free Death." A solid slab of experimental rock, with the emphasis on the second term; the piece will please fans of Can, Faust, Neu! and, yes, even Nurse with Wound. It has been given a solid backbeat and spacy guitars. As a bonus, it overcomes its stay just long enough for you to wonder what Steve Stapleton had in mind. Side two continues in the same "easier" vein with a cover of Patty Waters' "Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair." It's interesting to hear Stapleton sing, but his rendition barely makes it to the knee of the original avant-jazz tour-de-force: Waters' vocalizing was downright scary. In the last two pieces, the music makes a hard left turn. "Chicken Concrete" is an attempt at musique concrete in the barnyard. We hear clucking and rustling (real sounds treated to sound false, or false ones treated to sound real?) in this clever but very odd composition. And for the sex cravers among you, "Gusset Typing" offers an erotic monologue read by a high-pitched robotic voice over a soundscape of keyboard patches and moaning girls. Considering how Nurse with Wound has tackled strange eroticism in the past, this attempt is surprisingly weak. A bit disappointing, this album still has enough good moments to make it worthwhile to fans. Since it is a bit hard to find, newcomers should start with a more substantial album. ~ Francois Couture