“State Of
Mind” was always “my” F.L.A. album. Back in the earlier days when D(r)ave and
myself had first discovered the band, “The Initial Command” was always “his”
album (“No Control” being “his” song) but I was always a bit more partial to
this one. At first I thought it was strictly because of the song “Testimony”
which, at the time, was one of the first non-rhythmic ambient pieces I could
really get into (just before I discovered Of Tanz Victims), but the whole album
flowed so cohesively that it almost worked as a concept album. Intriguingly enough,
the vocals on this one were a little more on the forefront than the first
album, something which I think I may have picked up upon more or less
consciously back then.
With over
30 years of “recul” to look at this album in a less subjective way, I do see it
now as the first ever-so-subtle move towards the sound they would go towards
afterwards (i.e. a more user-friendly commercial variant of their stuff),
although back in those days, this album was still as “anxious”-inducing as “The
Initial Command”, however perhaps with a slightly more “human” feel to it than
it’s previous.
If “First
Reprisal” doesn’t quite get you into the proper mod of this album, the
follow-up “Consequence”, in conjunction with the opener should give you a clear
indication where this album is at. It is however into the third piece, “Burnt
Soul”, which shares more stress-indusced paranoia with “Initial Command” than
the previous two songs. A wonderfully little eclectic piece which seems both
out of place and yet perfectly sequenced, now firmly positioning the listener
to where the artists really wanted to bring them.
“Testimony”
is perhaps a prototype of their earlier Delerium (or is it Delirium?) material,
a strangely more emotional and dare I say even human approach to the album’s
general thematic? It’s actually a very intriguing piece which seems as though
it could have been from an entirely different album, but it works quite well to
end side one.
Side two
starts off with another kicker entitled “Landslide”, which may be the very
first time we hear Bill Leeb’s voice rather quite clearly (i.e. not completely
drowned in effects). If there ever was a “single” to pick out from this album,
this would be it. “Terminal Power” follows and can only be described as “the”
creepy track from the album. It starts off mostly without a rhythm but develops
one slowly amongst the rather disconcerning elements it presents and assaults
the listener with. Another great example of the “anxiousness” developed from “The
Initial Command”.
“Malignant
Fracture” feels a little bit as a filler. It sounds a bit like a demo, or a
rejected song from their earlier days, with it’s very syncopated rhythms which
at times do seem out of sync which each other. Thematically it fits the album
quite well, although it does seem to suffer a little from a less polished
production than previous tracks, but it is still there, a part of the whole,
and another instrumental.
The album
closes out with “Eastern Voices”, which I can only describe as a wonderful end
of the album, and a not-so-twin partner to “Testimony”. A decent offering using
a well-known Mirage DSK sample (it’s no secret I myself re-did this song many
times, albeit in a much more minimal manner) coupled with those wonderful early
FLA out-worldly strings, and some disembodied voice recordings. The result is
great way to bookend the album, effective and final.
The cover
artwork was also of note, a very basic yellow and black “monochrome” image of a
doll’s head, something which would prove to be quite iconic for me for the
years to come. “State Of Mind” was perhaps the “last” great FLA album before
the beginning of the downfall (in my opinion of course) although the band would
continue to offer many re-listenable offering throughout the remainder of the
decade and the early 90s, although beginning with the following LP “Corrosion”
and more so with the EP “Disorder”, the “change” in FLA’s sound would become
more apparent.
