First recorded for Trent Reznor’s Nothing Records in the early ‘90s and later finished by Peter Christopherson and Danny Hyde in Bangkok, 2007, the final recordings of The New Backwards distill Coil’s earlier energies with deeply psychedelic, weightless production trickery to yield some of their most vivid yet elusive noumena.
These are the Peter Christopherson-approved mixes, which differ in track list, sequence and tone to Cold Spring’s issue of the Danny Hyde mixes, which were released in 2015 as Backwards. This version is more concise, containing only six tracks, and is rendered with a subtle, mind-bindingly wide yet pinched soundfield that makes it feel as though we’re hearing it diffracted thru a complex prism.
The flesh creeps from petrified drums and a death metal howl, all animated with an unnerving quality in Careful What You Wish For, and Nature Is A Language finds a most unique route between breakbeat hustle and psychedelic folk, but the most compelling moments are reserved to the baroque phantasmagoria of Paint Me A Dead Soul and the noirish soul nourishment of Princess Margaret’s Man In The D’Jamalfna.
Sadly, every Coil release is posthumous nowadays, but they continue to keenly resonate with fans and newcomers alike due to their timeless, dilated vision and ability to generate sensations not normally found in other musicks. The New Backwards stands testament to Coil at their best.
