Toll — Christ Knows

This is a reissue of a long out of print and legendary industrial album from 1986, remastered and with the bonus of three extra tracks. While some of the samples and sounds do age this to a certain extent, on the whole it’s rather effective in its dour creepy light.

The group consisted of Tim Gane (Stereolab), Paul Lemos (Controlled Bleeding) and Pacific 231. How long the project lasted it unclear, but it would seem this was their one and only release.It mixes slow winding and declining sntyh lines, lo-fi bass and guitar rudimentary’s, drum machine attack, rhythmic clunks,industrial fuzz, and some often rather well sung vocals(for the genre anyway). A Sprinkling of samples, that for the most part stay out of the cheese box, managing to add to the atmosphere.I think the thing that makes this shine darkly from the crowd is the great soupy and dense snthy work, and bass tones that seem to bubble and press at ones speakers in subterranean grace. Much like the cover shot of a tunnel, this seems like a journey though stinking underbelly of the city sewers- your feet dragging through knee deep water and waste. At times it almost wonders towards the bassy duby feel of Mick Harris late 80’s work with Scorn, at others like murky gone wrong and sick in the guts indie music.

A really rather satisfying retro trip, that really dissevered to be back available again, here for the first time on cd.To hear some samples and buy direct drop in here.