Search - Negativland :: Points

Forget preserving album continuity...

Epluribus9@aol.com | Antarctica | 09/05/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Before the "Christianity Is Stupid" scandal, the "U2" lawsuit, and now the RIAA mess, Negativland was inflicting their brand of surrealist channel-surfing on a priviledged few. POINTS was recorded before tape-master Don Joyce was a credited member of the group, so the textures are decidedly more brittle and spacious than what was to come. This makes POINTS even more spooky and disorienting than their later, more three-dimensional masterpieces like A BIG 10-8 PLACE and ESCAPE FROM NOISE. The topicality factor is nil, save for the ear-catching free-verse recitation "Dear Mary" and a nod to their native Contra Costa County in "A Nice Place to Live". (This subject would be exhaustively explored on the composition "180-G", from A BIG 10-8 PLACE.) There's very little here that's traditionally "musical", but pushing artistic boundries and making us giggle is what Negativland is all about. Like Guinness and William S. Burroughs, Negativland is most definitely an acquired taste. Those who have already been converted are unconditionally encouraged to check out this haunting early chapter of the band's saga."

A nice place to start

Jacob Marshall | Melbourne, Australia | 03/22/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"this was the second album negativland did, recorded in 1981 when the guys were all about 19 years old, however it sounds like it was made by guys who had been doing avant-garde sound collages for over thirty years. Negativland were making some fantastic records back then, their first self titled record and the album proceeding this one, A Big-10 Place, are examples of Negativland at their creative peak. After the whole U2 affair, Negativland became a bit repetitive and egocentirc; but Points is all about the music. With its mixes of found sound, cheesy keyboards, tape collages and ambient noise, this album makes for great listening. And for anyone who has never heard any negativland, or only owns one of the more recent albums, Points is a nice place to start."

Good early Negativland

Jacob Marshall | 09/26/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the first Negativland CD's I stumbled across. Odd, silly, noisy, and very entertaining. This stuff boggles the mind."