THE LEAST WE CAN DO IS WAVE TO EACH OTHER

I first heard about this band when reading a Prog special magazine from the UK and I was intrigued as to what these guys sounded like as the magazine said the band played weird, unfriendly music that was dark and foreboding. So I bought one album after another and became engrossed in their unique eclectic sound. Van der Graaf Generator's The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other (Wave, will do for short) is another of the early albums of the 70s that relies heavily on experimental, improvisational techniques and complex song structures.

'Darkness 11/11' starts with a wonderful brooding, throb that pulsates before Hammill interjects with a quiet soft delivery, "Day dawns dark, it now numbers infinity..." It is Potter's bass that really shines on this track, and it is complimented by Banton's estranged keyboards, and an excellent saxophone by Jackson. All the mayhem is held together by Evans who drums in jaded rhythm patterns that somehow add to the gloom and sense of dread, "Don't blame me please, for the fate that falls, I did not choose it," it is one of VDGG's best.

'Refugees' relies heavily on keyboards, mellotron and is an ode to passing friendships, namely Hammill's long lost friends and flatmates, Susan Penhaligon who was an actress in the 70s, and classical musician Michael Brand. An edited single bonus track is included but the 6 minute version is the one to savour.

After this relative calm VDGG launch into 'White Hammer', a nasty ditty about the torture of witches in 1486. It is not as dark as it first appears, and sounds rather ambient in places, but the final piece segues into a heavy handed Hammond and saxophone break that really sounds off kilter to the max. It's about as weird and unfriendly as the band could get and has a chilling after effect. The track begins to gain momentum and is suddenly silenced.

'Whatever would Robert Have Said' is an underrated classic of VDGG, and improves on each listen. It features all the aspects of prog from jagged riffs to symbolic lyrics that reference the Van der Graaf Generator scientific instrument, that causes your hair to stand on end using electric pulses, "Flame sucks between the balls of steel, nothing moves, the air itself congeals."

'Out of my Book' is one of the more pensive, reflective tracks of the band, in a similar style to much of 'Still Life', and seems to be the calm before the storm. The storm is 'After the Flood', which is the perfect way to end the album. It's another mini epic that moves from sublime quietness to freaky outbursts of musical estrangement. When Hammill screams "Total Annihilation!" he sounds like a Dalek exterminating those who stand in the way. The saxophone takes on a morbid feel that is punctuated by drums and bass. Hammill ends with contemplative vocals, "When the water falls again, all is dead and nobody lives", and we believe him, such is the overriding and chilling conviction in his delivery.

'. Wave .' is another excellent album overall and features an interesting bonus track 'Boat of Millions of Years' which certainly is worth a listen, as is the edited 'Refugees'. A great VDGG album that showcases these musical pioneers and boundary pushing visionaries' impact upon the rock world.