Loop vs. (the Myth of) The Soundscape

If I have to read the word ‘soundscape’ in another review or piece of writing that relates to Loop – or any other fuzzed up, ‘80s Brit rock act – I’m going to have a serious freak out. Come on folks. There’re better descriptors to make use of when explaining what a music sounds like. The only time that I’ve ever found and such lame combination (and no, not a ‘mash-up,’ you dunce) is when Jonathan Richman sings about the “Astral Plane.” And the only reason that it’s passable in that particular instance is because, Richman was pretty much untouchable until the late ‘70s. He didn’t slip up and make a throw away disc. Much the same sentiment could be levied on Loop.

“Who,” you might query. And my response to that only really has to do with the fact that My Bloody Valentine and the Jesus and Mary Chain are two of the most overrated bands from the last thirty years. I can handle some of the My Bloody Valentine stuff – apart from when they try to sing and what not. But the Jesus and Mary Chain is just short of a noxious fart at the end of one’s nose. But in taking the high points of both those acts, one might arrive at Loop.

Yeah, while fans of those other all too hip groups might decry their relative lack of acclaim – and I maintain ‘relative’ – Loop was able to arrive at roughly the same densely staticed and fuzzy approach to rock and or roll as those folks. And moreover, when Loop went in on a vocal, it won’t make listeners cringe – ok, parts of “Too Real to Feel” aren’t all that exceptional.

Anyway, Loop (Robert Hampson on throat and guitar, his wife Bex behind the drums and basser Glen Ray) only released three long players during its career. The first disc, 1987’s Heaven’s End, arrived as a fully thought out Stooges love letter. The incessant wah-wah and mid to fast pacing of the entire thing really gets the disc in that territory. There’re missteps, but the few that crop up are instantly mitigate by the excellence of what it’s surrounded by.

“Soundhead” and “Head On” have more in common than simply being poorly titled. Each is able to invoke that Detroit thing – the prior more so than the latter. But in those fast paced tracks and sheets of guitar sounds and wah-wah solos is a dash of Hawkwind: not too much, but both being Brits, the comparison is almost unavoidable.

Refraining from mentioning lyrical content works two fold, though. Firstly, whatever Hampson thought was clever isn’t going to come anywhere near his conception of music. And secondly, even if the lyrics did, they’re all but obscured by a combination of echo that’s splattered all over and the sheer force of the guitar.

None of that’s bad, but goes along way towards explaining the general aesthetic of Loop. So if there’s just not enough Detroit stuff out there for you, hunt down the ensemble’s catalog. No depression.