For Against - Black Soap

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4...according to our Brian on Thu 24 Mar, 2011.

CD singles. What is the bloody point? Who the hell buys these things? Ah! You! Well if you like these things (10 minutes of music on a disc that can hold 80) then you should get this one cos it's very good & isn't by The Manic Street Preachers which is the only band I can think of that still releases CD singles. That is a joke, not a very good one, sorry! For Against persist in producing glacial new wave style music along the lines of The Lines (see what I did there??) or early Cure and they do it really well indeed on this new single . It sounds authentic, energised & taut with a thrilling sense of minimal dynamism. The second track has an almost ethereal guitar & a lighter, more propulsive edge. It's a sound forged from the past but this track 'Dark Good Friday' is quite excellent & rather affecting, featuring ecstatic chinks of light that permeate to the doom. Concluding with 'Amen Yves (White Circles)' this three piece continue with their compulsive take on brittle, melodic post-punk exploration with a deep, cyclic atmospheric finish. It's almost dream-rock in places. They're really quite good these lads and so they should be, they've been at it for donkeys years, amassing a small but committed following.

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Signposts: Joy Division, Wire, Factory Records. BLACK SOAP inaugurates Words On Music's new series of For Against archival releases containing rare and previously unissued material. The CD-EP contains three tracks taken from the band's debut recording session in the autumn of 1984 with the trio's original lineup of Jeff Runnings (vocals, bass), Harry Dingman (guitar), and Greg Hill (drums).

“Black Soap” launches the EP and is the first song ever written by For Against – a torrid, sharp post-punk composition that highlights the band’s early fascination with Joy Division, and particularly its predecessor, Warsaw. Dingman's chop-saw, flanged guitar chords descend like a flock of angry birds, while Runnings declares, “Your black soap won’t get me clean.”

“Dark Good Friday” is equally frenetic, but showcases Runnings' unmistakable soaring vocal melodies while relying more heavily on Dingman’s meticulous, but always atmospheric, fretwork. Early flourishes of Hill’s trademark drumming are apparent, with every nook and cranny filled with decisive fills and cymbal crashes, on or off the downbeat.

The EP closes with “Amen Yves (White Circles)” - a previously unreleased mix of the fan favorite and European darkwave club staple. Equal parts dream- and dance-inducing, “Amen Yves (White Circles)” is a longer mix that showcases even more the interplay between Runnings' hypnotic vocals and the haunting triplet melodies that alternate between Dingman's guitar and guest flutist Erin Cerretta.