Track Listing:

1. House of Cards
2. Unclean
3. Loded
4. Et Al
5. Still
6. Alone with the Sea
7. Omission
8. The Consumation
9. Cold Inside
10. Velvet Rolls Royce
11. Way It Was
12. The Old Mission

Album Review:

The Re-Consumation is the "sonically enhanced" re-release of HURT's independent release The Consumation. The enhancement in this case involves the remixing and remastering of the original tracks, and the addition of new recorded elements. The first question one might ask is how does this recording stack up against the original? The answer: The Re-Consumation blows the original away.

Normally a band might consider going into the studio to completely re-record rather than release something with production issues. In fact, HURT has already done that with a few versions of the songs. However with this album, they took on what can sometimes be a greater challenge by fixing the problems to the best of their ability. The result is not a technically perfect album, but one with worthy enough to stand on its own. The flaws, largely rectified, are now barely noticeable, and new elements have been created to make this recording much more compelling.

It is interesting to hear some of the songs in their more primordial forms. One of my favorite tracks is "Alone With the Sea" with its haunting opening intact and not obscured by surf. It still gives me chills every time I hear it. Another is "The Old Mission" with is Beatles-esque opening applause and stripped-down vocals.

When I was first fortunate enough to hear The Consumation, despite it flaws, it stopped me in my tracks and induced me to give HURT's other material another listen. The Re-Consumation, with the flaws of the original recorded largely rectified, is a remarkable album. Although you may know a few of the songs already, or you may have heard the original release, as a whole you haven't heard anything like this before.

Type 3 Rating:

 
| 02.28.2008 | Review by J. Pierson |