February 9, 2001
Gwei-Lo : Gwei-Lo
The name is Chinese for 'ghost walker'. From the grave, then, an urgent stab at the future.
7 / 10
Death is, of course, the full stop after which no more sentences can follow, though the modern music industry often seeks to undermine its authority. In recent times, artists who departed before their time, from Tupac to Jeff Buckley, have had their respective barrels scraped by fans and record companies desperate to keep the artistic flame burning/tap that lucrative 'tragic sexy dead guy' market (delete as applicable). Gwei-Lo's debut album is, however, another thing entirely. Recorded before guitarist Al Brooker's sudden death last year, onstage at Cambridge's Strawberry Fair, the tracks contained thereon only come to us after much soul-searching on the part of Al's family and fellow band members. Their ultimate decision, to release the record in tribute to Brooker, is understandable in the light of this questing, hungry, electrifying music.
Gwei-Lo's album fits squarely in the Mogwai/Slint lineage, though with none of the leaden-hearted clinicism that's bedevilled that scene of late. These tracks engage on an intellectual level, for sure, but they're also fired up with a palpable fury, from Brooker's slashing riffs on the opening 'URR' to the more contemplative 'Cellsong', where drum'n'bass rhythms chase eerie feedback drones. No mere followers,
Gwei-Lo are lashing furiously at the confines of a supposedly experimental genre mouldering in its own self-satisfaction.
The name is Chinese for 'ghost walker'. From the grave, then, an urgent stab at the future.
Stevie Chick
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