The Residents — Mole Box

With a career spanning nearing fifty years, and forty-six studio albums American avant pop/ creative sonic weirdo’s The Residents have covered  a lot of sonic ground, as well as many different themes & concepts. But one of their most enduring, known, influential & celebrated are the Mole albums- originally the concept was planned as a trilogy, then a hexalogy - but in the end we only got parts one, two, and four- 1981’s Mark Of The Mole, 1982’s Tunes Of Two Cities, and 1985’s The Big Bubble. From Cherry Red/ MVD Audio, as part of their pReseverved series which has seen definitive releases of Key Residents album- here’s The Mole Box featuring the three released albums, a live album- and literally oodles & oodles of un-released material- if you've been impressed by what we’ve got in the other releases in the series just wait until you check this out- there are twenty unreleased tracks & nearing three hours of new material over spread over this six-CD set.

For the uninitiated the Mole concept is based around two conflicting cultures: The Moles- a subterranean people whose gods offer salvation through hard labour. The Chubs- a vapid, plump & hedonistic people who reside under the sea.  Over the released albums we get the tale of beginning  of the war between the two cultures (The Mark Of The Mole), their conflicting musical culture( Tunes Of Two Cities), and a album from The Big Bubble- a  fictional band crossbreeding the Moles and Chubs, and singing in the band  Mohelmot language.  Over the three released albums, the sound moves from a decidedly gloomy & dramatic blend of industrial, experimental electronica, & avant noise rock. Mixers of off-kilter-yet- buoyant electronic jazz & more primal world music influenced by industrial music/ sound. And angular & awkward avant rock.

This new six-disc set appears in the thick flip-top box- with each of the six discs coming in their own card sleeve. There’s also a twenty-two-page booklet- this features a new nine-page write-up about the albums, the Moles concept, and the often difficult period that The Residents went through between the releases of the albums. Also, we get a host of imagery, cuttings, and pictures related to the albums & its related tour. Lastly, we get a seven-page write-up discussing the unreleased material- the booklet very much follows the layout/ look of the other releases in the pReseverved series. I must admit initially I felt a little underwhelmed by the look of the box, as I was really expecting a thicker booklet/ more visual & text content- as there are three studio albums covered here- but I guess that’s just purely a long term fan pining for more. But after hearing the new remastering & the tons of new material here- I’m more than happy with the set as a whole.

So let us move onto the discs themselves- and first up on disc one we have 1981’s Mark Of The Mole, and it’s bonus material for this disc takes in the whole album played live in the studio. I’ve not played this album in a year or two, and now returning to it in the setting of the boxset & the projects wider discography- it’s fair to say the album stands as one of theiR most gloomy, grim & at times noisy releases. The albums concept/story sees the Moles fleeing from their flooded subterranean home to the land of the chubs -seeking a new home and work  To start with the Moles are welcomed because as the Chubs despise hard labour. But fairly soon conflict arises when a Chub scientist invents a machine that can do the work instead, making the Moles obsolete and this sparks a brief war. To create the album the project utilizes an Emulator- one of the first sampling keyboards- which they used to create the albums sonic scapes that move from brooding & uneasy, to clunking & churning, onto discordantly theatrical. The project brought in  US magician & mischief maker Penn Jillette to help pull the storyline & concept, along with a few guest vocalist. The album is  in six parts- with the opening intro track and the proceeding multi-part tracks. Mark Of The Mole appeared a year after the projects Commercial Album- which was the bands most approachable & polished release- and really it completely switches tone, mood, and feel- going from an album of often playful & quirky pop like creations to a dense, noisy & sonically jarring album. It was certainly a daring move, but really that’s what the project have done through much of their career.
The bonus material here is a real revelation- basically we get the entire album played out in the studio in 1982- for with a more sparser, darting, and at times damn noise take on the original material- as the project has often done  with their new versions of their own material, and of course they often drastically different covers- there’s a really keen sense of trying things from a slightly different angle - yes the concept/ layout of the tracks are the same, but there's a fair bit of difference in the playing, meaning this take on the material almost feels like a version of the album from an alternate universe.

Moving onto the second disc- and we, of course, have 1982’s The Tunes Of Two Cities- this original twelve album brought together the polar opposite of the Moles & Chubs music. The album opens with a selection of the Chubs buoyant & bright jazz tunes- realised with electronics/ sampled horn work with that distinctive Resident wonk-ness & charm. As the album goes on we move to the more jarring, primal & industrial-tinged Moles music- which I guess is best described as more gloomy & clunk bound proto-world music the project did on the Eskimo album. The contrast between the two styles works well over the album's runtime,  giving the whole things a wonderful lopsided & unpredictable feel.
For this disc we get twelve unreleased tracks- first, we get three tracks from the album sessions, that didn’t make it to the album- we have “Open Up” which is a more discordant take on the Chubs jazz sound- with scuttling surf guitar, pumping electro horns, & surprising sitar fills. Next, there’s “Anvil Forest” which is in the Mole sound setting- with  marching banks of chopping ‘n’ slicing textures, sour & off-angle synth stabs. Lastly, there’s “Scent Of Mint”- which almost feels like a mix between both cultures sounds- with the jaunting keys & vibes, meeting spinning-to- wiring industrial elements.  After this we get three 1982 rehearsal versions of album tracks- and this really shows the project testing & shaping each side of the albums sonic identity- and once again it’s most fascinating, and at times quite rawly creative.
Topping off the album we get four tracks of live in-studio version tracks- also from 1982, I’m guessing this is the same session as the Mark Of The Mole bonus tracks- as once again there’s a more urgent, at times noisy take on the material, which once again gives the album material a very different feel

The third disc takes in 1985’s The Big Bubble- and this really stands as one of the more difficult Residents album, which personally took me many years to fully click & appreciate. The original album took in eleven tracks- and it saw the project stripping down to an almost formal rock sound with guitars, bass, synthetic beats & fleeting synth- often the songs are very off angular/ ugly in their chiming & wonky tone, this is enhanced even more by awkward baying & sing-song voice of the singing Resident who is intoning the lyrics in the made-up language of Mohelmot. I still recall playing the album around twenty years back, after hearing most of the project's output- and really I found it deliberate awkward & at times annoying/ silly record- over the years I’ve gone back to it again & again, really coming to appreciate the very distinctive & ugly sound of The Big Bubble. So if you're new to the project, and
particularly this album- don’t expect this to grab you in anyway…as I’m certain most will find it a real turn off.
Extras wise on this disc we get eight tracks & these are made up unreleased/ demo takes, and a selection of live versions of album tracks from throughout the years. First, we get a track entitled “Jingle Bell”- which is denser, more epic and at times formal harmonic take on the more ‘rock’ sound the band tried on the album. Next, we have "Untitled"- this takes the vocal elements from the album, and blends with a detailed African tinged beat & swaying-to-stabbing horn work. Next is "Kula Bocca( 2 track demo)" and this takes the ethnic African feel further with layered harmonizing vocals. Then there’s "Die-stay-Go( 2 track demo)"- this finds the more quirky side of the project with sing-song layers of weird (un) harmonising vocal track. Then we get the live tracks- two from 1986, one for Norwegian TV, and one from 2011 San Francisco.

Disc four takes in the live album The Mole Show Live At The Roxy 1982- this was originally released in 1983 as a black vinyl & picture disc release, later getting CD release in 1998 on Japanese label Bomba records. The album takes in seventeen tracks, bringing together mainly material from Mark Of The Mole & The Tunes Of Two Cities- it’s a great punchy, odd, and at times jarring live record coming in at around forty-nine minutes. There is no extra material on this disc.

Disc five takes in a completely unreleased live show recorded in Washington in 1983- here we get twenty-one tracks and seventy minutes of music. Once again we get a mix of Mark Of  & Tunes album tracks- but they sound often drastically different- as much of the band's equipment was stranded in Europe after the failed Mole tour- also there’s no Penn Jillette or backing singers that supported the tour. So, as a result, the sound is a lot more stark, crude, and at times quite sharp & angry- really once again showing yet another side to the projects sound. Of course, I’ve never heard these recordings before, and they really were a real revelation- as one gets to hear familiar tracks in such a different context & flavour.  If you’re a new listener I’d say leave this disc until your more familiar with the first two Mole albums, then check this out.

The sixth & final disc is a selection of unreleased odds & ends, relating to the Mole concept. We get fourteen tracks in all- and seventy-seven minutes of playtime. The tracks move from concentrated music only mix of Mark Of The Mole’s key themes.  Moving onto various stand-alone tracks over the years that have used elements of the Mole albums themes sonic/ concept. Been topped live tracks from the 2000s. Some of the stuff on this disc is interesting enough, but there are no great revelations- or as the disc back cover suggests part three of the Mole saga. So in the way, it’s a little disappointing- but I guess if there was nothing more in the archive, then this final disc works well as a gathering together of material.

In conclusion, it’s certainly great to have all of the Mole related stuff in one place with the Mole Box- and the bonus tracks on each of the three released albums are both most worthy & fascinating. The firth unreleased live show offers up a most distinctive take on the first two albums material, and the six-disc is effective enough for a few plays and works well as a full stop( for now..) on all things Mole related. If you’re a fan of the project you really need this now, if you're new to The Residents- it’s fairly worthy purchase as you can presently get the set for around £26.00- which is good enough price for the three studio albums alone, not taking into consideration the bonus material.