INTERMISSION

'Intermission' is one of those albums that was not designed to see the light of day but thanks to the growing Residents' fanbase, it just has. It is not a bad album either by any standards but is really just the music and effects used during the scenes in the excessive lavish stage show promoting the Mole saga. Interestingly enough the material in the intermission and between scenes is at times better than that on the studio album 'Mark of the Mole'.

Tracks such as tribalistic 'Lights Out' and the jumpy quirky 'Shorty's Lament' are real gems. It is great that one can listen to this music although it was only meant to be inbetween the actual scenes in the show. 'The Moles Are Coming' has a terrific rhythmic pulse, and well executed keyboards driving it; sounding more like vintage Devo than any Residents track.. 'Would We Be Alive?' has a chilling keyboard chord and scratchy percussion. Vocals have that familiar Resident's twang from so many of their earlier albums. The atmosphere is dark and brooding like that heard on 'Commercial Album'. The foreboding vocoder effect on the vocals is unsettling, and I particularly like the playful glockenspiel sounds. 'The New Hymn' uses a Mellotron, and staccato percussion beats. The choir of voices suits the odd timbre in the music.

Overall, an unsettling but entertaining glimpse into the Mole show that made such an impact on the Residents' music over the years. It is worth a listen and is surprisingly better than many of the other Resident's material in their extensive catalogue.