PRURIENT - And Still, Wanting

Dominick Fernow, the mastermind behind Prurient, has certainly outdone himself on this particular release. And Still, Wanting is the follow-up album to Pleasure Ground, which came out some time before. Not only does this album feel and sound like more work was put into it, but it creates an increasingly intense emotional atmosphere the more you listen. Most Noise albums will only have me for a few listens, depending on the nature of the sounds being pushed out. Unlike any other Noise record I've listened to, this one has me coming back almost constantly. And Still, Wanting is filled with almost "song-like" structure, making it feel more like an actual album rather than a Noise sampler CD. The real quality, to me, is the lyrics found within each track. Only 1 song on the entire album is without lyrics, and that's actually a more toned down track than the ones that do have any words (this is excluding Shield Prologue and Epilogue, which both obviously have words, but are without any liner notes to tell us what they actually are).

Now for the songs. The opener is "Memory Repeating", a violent loop of static appears and then vanishes into thin air, only to return no less than a second later drowning your ears in pain. This loop continues with a throbbing synth tone underneath it all, and if you listen hard enough, you can hear screams of Dominick's angry voice. The sounds fade away, and thus Dominick's poetic voice, surprisingly calm and almost gentle, begins. "I woke up today..."

The second track is called "Returning Truth", and happens to be one of my favorites. It's actually a remake of the track "Returning Rape" off the album Adam Tied To Stone and is, in my opinion, a lot better than it's predecessor. The track opens with almost the same static loop as the first track, immediately being complimented by a wonderfully melancholy sounding string section, looping and reverberating almost endlessly behind this beautiful mess. Dominick's voice once again erupts, this time sounding like it's coming straight through a phone line submerged in violent waters. "Everything you did, was everything I wanted."


The third track, "Subject", starts out sounding like an endless train, speakers all over it, mics dangling everywhere on the perimeter, all turned up just enough to wobble back and forth between feedback and silence. Fernow wants to tell us something. "I just want to let you know..."

Fourth is "Lust End". If you're familiar with "Apple Tree Victim" off the Pleasure Ground record, you'll probably immediately notice the same synth being used in the background at the beginning. Within this track there is a tornado of many different sounds, all mainly feedback related, but it's not what I would call "harsh" at all. The synth is making a loop of very depressed notes, all while Dominick screams "This is a lesson."

Fifth has been fighting for my favorite song spot with "Returning Truth"...this track is called "Total Terrorism", and it is a perfect continuation of Pleasure Ground's "Outdoorsman/Indestructable". The track begins with subtle sounds of what I comprehend to be a live audience(?), followed by the immediate hitting of a high pitched gong of some sort. It could be a sample. A very low, almost cicada-esque synth note slowly pulls itself up from the darkness and sustains itself while the gong is triggered a few more times. This track is easily the most dark on the album. The gong is hit once more. "I seclude myself in the silence."

"Strict Ideas" comes in at sixth. It opens with rumbling mic feedback, and what sounds almost like phantoms racing past millions of mics in a huge concert hall. This continues for a while and then suddenly subsides as foghorns blow out a drony melody at sea. Wind caresses the microphone lightly, and Dominick speaks the words, affected by his signature delay, that are obviously a highlight of this entire album. "It's getting frustrating."

Seventh is "Incense and Rubber". This is basically a long continuation of a synth loop that continues throughout almost 10 minutes, slipping in and out of a phaser, while mildly being affected by a feedback loop. It's really a great way to end the album. Something simple, something easy to listen to, to remind you what you've just heard, and to reflect on yourself for those few minutes.

The two tracks on the 5" accompanying certain versions of And Still, Wanting include "Shield (Prologue)" and "Shield (Epilogue)". These are less deep than the rest of the tracks in the album, but are still good old fashioned Prurient, and are meant to be listened to as if the album was a book (Prologue first, Epilogue last). These serve as good openers and closers to the album but sound nothing like the "inside of the book" sounds.

I have to give this album a 10 out of 10 because it's easily his best work yet and I've come back to it time and time again. I'm even listening to it right as I type this. Give it a whirl, you will not be disappointed. Also, stay tuned for my review of Rose Pillar when that gets released on Dominick Fernow's very own Hospital Productions label.

Download Prurient - And Still, Wanting

Tracklisting:

1. Memory Repeating
2. Returning Truth
3. Subject
4. Lust End
5. Total Terrorism
6. Strict Ideas
7. Incense and Rubber

"Shield" 5"
1. Shield (Prologue)
2. Shield (Epilogue)