Flying Saucer Attack - Distance (8 tracks) +Album Reviews

An excellent introduction to FSA

09/03/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Distance serves as an excellent sampler of the music of FSA, bringing together songs that, evidently, were not previously collected in any other form. What is so surprising is how well this collection holds together. Split 50-50 between rock-ish tracks with squalling guitar noise and deep rhythms, and ambient instrumental tracks which evoke images of natural landscapes, alternately calm and turbulent, this is music you can feel coursing through your body. There isn't a dud song among the bunch. Whenever I try to turn friends onto FSA (not always successfully) I start with Distance, and hope they'll explore more of FSA themselves."

Spaced

Mark Champion | San Antonio, TX United States | 12/29/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's hard to argue with these guys, even with their cartoonish Saturday matinee name. The titles alone are sufficiently compelling: if you happen to be thinking about plunging into an ocean (or two), plunge right in; of wandering through November mist in the middle of wherever, away you may wander; to go soaring high. . . This is the earliest FSA, much of it predating the debut FLYING SAUCER ATTACK, though qualitatively it differs little from the later "Phase Two" material. The instrumental tracks tend to work best- -"Instrumental Wish," the intense "Distance" and the two "Oceans" are especially evocative- -as what voice there is to be discerned comes through fairly clunkily. One gets the feeling that the noisier and more processed (FSA's primary concern) the track the less interesting it was in the first place but since there's no way to know, and if you like noise anyway, who cares?"

Flying Saucer Attack - 'Distance' (VHF)

Mike Reed | USA | 07/14/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Released in 1994,'Distance' was more or less FSA's follow-up to their outstanding self-titled debut CD.But,DO keep in mind this isn't album number two,it's a collection of eight(8)of the duo's 7" often hard-to-find vinyl singles.Well worth having a copy of.Okay,I admit it,I've thoroughly enjoyed EVERY Flying Saucer Attack release that's ever been put out.Tracks here that more than did it for me include "Oceans","Crystal Shade",the title cut "Distance",the folk-influenced "November Mist" and "Oceans 2".Simply another dose of FSA's trademark 'experimental space rock' to fully take in.I had fun doing just that,so will you."

Pendulum music

loteq | Regensburg | 10/10/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"With their hypnotic, droning neo-psychedelia, FSA are often regarded as successors to early-'90s noise rockers like Ride and My Bloody Valentine. Given the band's prolific output, the quality of their albums and EPs remains nearly entirely consistent, but they've never experienced commercial success. "Distance" is a 40-minute compilation of early singles and previously unreleased material, and I agree with the other reviewer who said that this was one of FSA's most accessible efforts. It's less noisy than "Goodbye" and "New lands" but more immediately rewarding than "Further" and "Chorus". Although the band doesn't really write pop songs, "Standing stone", "Crystal shade", and the sublime "Soaring high" come relatively close to conventional song formats. One thing I find amusing about this album is that you can find out from the titles how the songs sound: For example, the ambient-inflected "Instrumental wish" comes up with saxophone-like effects and warm electronic undercurrents. The title track has swampy percussion rumbling in the background, and "November mist" matches its name with various guitar lines and soft, dreamy vocals. "Soaring high" is the album's best and most enjoyable song, its opening guitar riff is very beautiful. My only complaint is that the production ensures that guitar noise often drownes out everything else, so it's almost impossible to work out what's going on with bass and drums. The band's serious garage fixation occasionally detracts from the quality of the music. The album's content, however, is really good, and although this is one of the most distorted lo-fi recordings you're likely to hear, it's also one of the best."

Beyond Ecstatic

LHB | Dallas, TX | 03/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Those who criticize fsa's "lo-fi" production techniques miss the point of some of their best work, in my opinion. The more pensive pieces, like "Oceans" and "November Mist" come across as beautiful, amorphous washes of pure sound. The "rockers" like "Standing Stone" and especially the mind (and ear) blowing "Soaring High" seem like they're attempting to replicate the feeling of standing in front of a stack of overdriven Marshall 100 watt's with a brain full of acid, where the music's so loud you can't even really hear it any more. As someone who's partaken of that experience a few times, I think they succeed brilliantly on this collection of early pieces. Every fsa release is a desert island disc, but something about the sheer abandon-to-ecstasy of this album results in it never getting too far from my CD player. To paraphrase a line in one of my favorite movies, "For those who understand, no explanation is necessary; for those who don't, no explanation is possible." If the sound of musicians straining the limits of music to express beauty and ecstasy is your cup or tea, no explanation is necessary: get this album."

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	Flying Saucer Attack Distance Genres: Dance & Electronic, Alternative Rock, Special Interest, Pop, Rock Track Listings (8) - Disc #1 Oceans Standing Stone Crystal Shade Instrumental Wish Distance November Mist Soaring High Oceans 2
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