brise-glace, when in Vanitas... (side A)

brise-glace was a strange and short-lived combination of personalities in Chicago in 1994, and when in Vanitas... reflects the group's diversity. When Cheer-Accident's Thymme Jones plays his awkward drums, he can certainly be dominant, and some of the overt tape collage is obviously Jim O'Rourke. What's crazy about the album is that the four personalities sort of rotate through the foreground. The results seem like Henry Cow as updated through a more post-punk lens, with the rapid shifts and varied styles. The heavy riffs and drumming certainly would not be at home on Unrest. Steve Albini engineered, and some of his drum mic technique is recognizable. The front cover is even more confusing and impenetrable than the album.