Search - Coil :: Worship the Glitch

Experiments in an audio environment

Robert Vogel | Los Angeles, CA United States | 07/24/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Alot of people did not like this album because they listened to it with alot of pre-concieved expectations. Coil normally has alot of tangeble and easily percieved sounds. They have quite a few dance floor tunes as well, but this album to me is simply an experiment into creating sounds that explore the worlds of audio that lie between the crevaces of "normal" sounds. Worship the Glitch. Paying tribute to the beautiful chaos that undulates and shows itself in pure form as rarely as a four leaf clover. Being somewhat of a connoisseur of bizzare audio I give this a 5."

Stark and minimal ambience

Matthew D. Mercer | Chicago, IL United States | 01/03/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"A sort-of offshoot of Coil, this release finds them exploring barebones ambience. Not as drone oriented as the later Time Machines material, this release is based on the premise of false starts, mistakes, sounds that shouldn't have happened. The result is surprisingly fragile and stark. A bit more abstract and sterile than most of Coil's repertoire but worthwhile nonetheless. (This is a reissue of an album that was released in 1996.)"

A Holy Grail of Inspiration for Electronic Musicians

Etc | Los Angeles, CA | 10/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I got this album when I was 14 years old, and I can remember putting it on while I was falling asleep. There's something jarring but relaxing about the album's hypnotic soundscapes, and it is still my favorite Coil album.



It would not be the album that I'd recommend for a first time listener though... That would probably be either Horse Rotovator or Love's Secret Domain, which are more accessible and structured.



The Elph vs Coil "Worship the Glitch" album was actually a collection of sound design sessions between Peter Christopherson and Jhon Balance. Elph is not a real group, but rather the name Coil gave themselves for the project. The tracks are atmospheric sound "auditions," rather than actual songs.



That being said, the music contained in this collection is entirely unique and haunting, and it digs right to the dark core of Coil's beautiful/tragic universe of sound. There's something simultaneously frail and foreboding about the "songs," and it may be offputting for the average listener, but to an electronic musician (or lover of sound design), it's an indespensible CD.



This is one of the records that influenced my decision to become an electronic musician, and still it remains a primary reference for inspiration. "Dark Start" is (for me) an almost immediate release from writers block.. it just plants you in an visual enviornment. There are many tracks on the album that accomplish this atmospheric and visually suggestive nature; namely "The Halliwell Hammers" and "Caged Birds," which (like the title suggests) is mostly composed of echoey birdsong and chirping... although it somehow possesses an element of lonliness and peace that I cannot pinpoint. The elusiveness of the evocative power of Coil's music is one of their most signature and vital elements, and I can think of no other album they've made where it is so beautifully presented and exposed.



For me personally, Worship the Glitch holds an additional nostalgic relevance, but I can be certain that if I were introduced to it today it would still be equally revelatory. As a child it was the music that colored my nightmares, and I can still think of no other group that produces music so chilling and eerily suggestive. There's a real and authentic mystery to Coil's music, and Worship the Glitch captures it in what in what could perhaps be considered its raw state.



For fans, it's absolutely required. For electronic musicians it should be considered required listening. It is a somewhat rare album now, but it's worth every penny. I hold Worship the Glitch up to a different standard, and to me it is much more than "just an album." It's something like a reference and a routine experience."