Van Der Graaf Generator Trisector

Three's A Crowd...
Trisector
Van Der Graaf Generator
Virgin

What was always so striking was their collective sound as much as the material itself. Whilst Peter Hammill provided the bulk of the content, it was the group process that transcended the sum of its parts. The surprise departure of sax and flute player, David Jackson, whose ethereal embellishments and caustic licks were a unique selling point, therefore caused speculation about the remaining trio’s ability to maintain VDGG’s identity rather than end up as an adjunct of Hammill’s solo career.

Ultimately, they compensate for Jackson’s loss with shorter songs and Hammill’s precarious rocked-up electric guitar - more to do with timbre than technique. Whilst “Interference Patterns”, “The Final Reel”, “Lifetime” and the pile-driving blast of “(We Are) Not Here” have at their core those famously jagged and discursive elements which are instantly recognisable, their impact is marred by some inconclusive riffage such as the stodgy instrumental opener, “The Hurly Burly”, or a tired-sounding rant about gender politics and male hubris in general on “Drop Dead”.

Hammill’s over-driven vocals aside, this kind of stuff is simply too tame and run-of-the-mill to really cut the mustard.

Given that much of the lyrical content is about the passing of time, coming to terms with loss and encroaching senility,(“All That Before”) it’s perhaps forgivable that the otherwise atmospheric, “Only In A Whisper”, is a merely retread of “Solitude” from Hammill’s 1970 album, Fool’s Mate.

The Jackson X-factor is most sorely missed on the 12 minute ponder-athon, “Over The Hill” which never quite takes off in the way you suspect it might have done a couple of years ago. Despite such reservations, and the inescapable fact that Trisector lacks the consistency and bite of Present, their noisy ruminations exert a dark fascination that is hard to deny.