In Debt

IN DEBT compiles Disco Inferno's early EPs and first LP.
Liner Note Authors: Ian Crause; Neil Kulkarni; Clive Gabriel; Jon Selzer.
Illustrator: Andrew Swainson.
Before England's Disco Inferno embraced the pop potential of MIDI-triggered sampling and found a truly original voice, the group was firmly under the post-punk influence of Wire and the Factory label's celebrated sounds. The indispensable IN DEBT collects Disco Inferno's debut "Entertainment" / "Arc in Round" single, 1991's OPEN DOORS-CLOSED WINDOWS album, the post-album SCIENCE EP, and the unreleased "Broken."
Disco Inferno evokes the emblematic atmospherics of Factory mainstays Joy Division and The Durutti Column, unreeling spidery, delay-effected guitar lines over fluid bass, edgy rhythms, and hollow, heartache production evocative of late Factory figurehead Martin Hannett. Frontman Ian Crause delivers his keen lyrics (they're worth a close listen) in a properly disaffected tone, encompassed by pounding drums, distant synths, and trickling guitars. Originality may not have been Disco Inferno's strongest suit at this point, but the group does its influences fine service. "Entertainment," "Emigre," "Set-Sail," and "Freethought" are all haunting and uniquely beautiful songs, while "Bleed Clean," "Arc," "Broken," and "Incentives" present the band at its most eerie and menacing. The excellent SCIENCE features four further gems, while the EP's mighty "Waking Up" also contains the seeds of Disco Inferno's revolutionary experiments with interwoven samples.