[review 2007: favourites]

When I heard High Society for the first time, I thought of it as really more like two or three albums. There was the boring, straightforward guitar rock album (though in hindsight it wasn’t as straightforward as I remembered), led largely by John Schmersal; there was the bloopy, slinky electropop album, featuring Toko Yasuda on vocals; then there was the mini-album where the two would combine forces all Wonder Twins-style and fuse the two styles together. This minisuite of “Natural Disasters,” “Carbonation” and “Salty” was the best thing about High Society, and it seemed a bit like the album was so fractured only because Yasuda was still relatively new to the group (having decamped from Blonde Redhead to join Enon). Give them a couple of albums to really figure this thing out and Enon could put out an awesome record, I thought.

That day is here and that record is Grass Geysers…Carbon Clouds. Enon have worked out all the bugs and it’s all systems go, to magnificent effect: they’ve recorded an album full of foot-stompers and hip-shakers, with the traditional Enon whirlygig soundscape surprisingly intact. Schmersal and Yasuda no longer sound as though they’ve been working in their own separate studios, either—it’s one band now, with a single-minded purpose—to rock your socks off. It’s actually a bit scary how well the fusion holds together—there are a couple of songs where it sounds a bit like Yasuda’s even taken on Schmersal’s vocal tics.

Along with Enon’s newfound consistency, there’s the bigger, more aggressive sound. First track “Mirror On You” is the sound of Enon putting you on notice: they’re not fucking around this time. The jittery guitar solo in the middle of the song (less than two minutes in total!) and Yasuda’s feverish vocal contributions batter and bruise you into submission—it’s stuff to get the heart racing and the feet moving. The rest of the album is similarly caffeinated: the competent indie rock songs on High Society, even highlight “Natural Disasters,” is completely outmatched by the scorching V8-powered rock of songs like “Those Who Don’t Blink” and “Piece of Mind.” And the quirky electropop numbers were nice, but Enon gives Yasuda the best song on the album with “Pigeneration,” another rapid-fire stormer full of attitude—and just one of many songs that shows Yasuda can do more than the cute Japanese chanteuse schtick. Grass Geysers is fantastic enough to almost obliterate any memory of Enon’s previous works.

I say almost because you’ve probably figured out the one flaw with the album if you’re a fan. The consistency that happens to be Grass Geysers‘ biggest improvement can also be a problem. When I first listened to the album it sounded fun enough, but the songs all blurred into one another; Grass Geysers is consistent to a fault. This is especially weird considering that Enon albums have always been genrehoppers; here they’ve settled down, and some people might miss the wanderlust of the past.

I might have missed it too, except it didn’t take long for me to figure out which song was which and appreciate them for their individual charms. For a lesser band with a lesser collection of songs that consistency might be a momentum killer, but not here. There may not be room any more for a “Disposable Parts” or “Knock That Door” any more, but if Enon keeps writing songs like “Pigeneration” and “Law of Johnny Doolittle” I really don’t see myself caring very much. Those earlier albums may have been very good, but they seem like unfinished blueprints now next to Grass Geysers…Carbon Clouds. This is the new yardstick by which all future Enon albums should be measured.