Suicide
by Suicide

Suicide were a band who had emerged in New York during the early 1970s but came to prominence during the new wave period with the release of their self-titled masterpiece (and one of rock's all-time masterpieces) in 1977.

The album conjures up a sonic intensity of stark minimilism that is breathtakingly original and highly influential.

Whilst many of their generation were producing angular 'punk' rhythms, Suicide were perfecting a series of seemingly endless modulations whose underpinnings echoed a sinister and nuerotic rockabilly.

On the surface their sound constituted of little more than minimilist reverb, but in reality was a work of profound 'sculpted' intellectual and hallucegenic complexity that remains as fresh and original as the day of its release.

The album actually points to a kind of apocolyptic hell reminiscent of the imagery of Nick Cave minus the latters soulful redemption.

Vega and Rev depict a bleak, icy and desolate urban landscape of nuerosis, longing and self-destruction.

The imagery of their art is probably Lower East Side, New York - a place where the seediness of the city permeates the mind of the 'atomized' loner as he sits in a colourless empty apartment looking out upon the bleakest of New York skylines - an horizon of blanket slate grey.

The music of Suicide is a metaphor for urban contamination and inner madness. The sound is unsettling, primitive but beautiful. It's a vision of urban sleeze and decay - an existential and relentless paranoia al a 'Taxi Driver', a ghostly atmosphere that was conjured up in a similar way by the Velvet Underground a decade earlier.

The centrepiece of the album is 'Frankie Teardrop', the ultimate nightmare, a kind of hyper-sinister 'Sister Ray'. This is arguably the most daring, unsettlingly, dizzying and maniacal 10 minutes of sustained drama and tension ever translated to rock music.

Vega's final refrain, "We are all Frankies lying in hell" is truelly scary, an industrial nightmare in which the 'quivering' and stuttering participant appears to be unable to awake from.

'Suicide' is a work of immense ambition whose imagery is stark and whose visions are nightmarish. Above all, it is a work of beauty which ranks as one of the greatest artistic achievements of all time.

From teague TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/30/2020 02:30 | #254783 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Suicide's self-titled LP is a unique experience. Maybe there's other stuff like this out there that I'm not aware of, but I've never heard anything like this before. Not only is Suicide unique, it's really good too. The arrangements are sparse, yet impactful. (Edited)

From joannajewsom 03/07/2009 12:10 | #2919 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

The screams on 'Frankie Teardrop'...wow

From Graeme2 TOP 100 COMMENTER 08/02/2019 13:14 | #240673 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Let's hear it for Frankie. I highly recommend if you've never heard this one, to get some good headphones, roll a fat one, turn the lights off and enjoy the ride. (Edited)

From johnner TOP 100 COMMENTER 08/06/2012 22:17 | #47962 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

I like the repetitive nature of the music but am I the only one to find Frankie Teardrop funny?