Helicopter Helicopter
Analog & Electrical Fields
1999
Analog & Electrical Fields picks up where Helicopter Helicopter’s debut album, Squids And Other Fishes, left off. The songs are still dark, still noisy, and still beautiful.
The album opens with the blistering “Ghost Face”, which is reminiscent of the aggressive rockers of their debut. In fact, “Ever Since The Buzzards Moan”, “Scarab In A Hole” and “Sinking Light” all share the same ethos as those early songs.
The band begins to expand their sound a bit on this record. “Please Take Me To Mars” sounds like it would be at home on The Flaming Lips’ Transmissions from the Satellite Heart album. “Firefly Mechanical” lays back a bit and really lets the vocal take center stage. The triumphant closing chorus of “Map” could be on infinite repeat for a very long time before wearing out its welcome.
Helicopter Helicopter have created a classic album by balancing their emerging pop sensibility with their knack for dark imagery. The band proves once again that there’s beauty in the shadows.
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