Released in 1999 on David E. Williams’ own Ospedale label, Hello Columbus contains three tracks not available on any of his albums. Williams is once again joined by long-term collaborator Jerome Deppe, who provides guitar, bass and backing vocals, Kenneth Brune plays saxophone, Michael Scott plays drums, and there is also backing from a full string quartet, The Academy Quartet. Williams has stated in an interview that he spent a lot of money on recording these three songs professionally in two different 48-track studios, and it shows, with the songs having a much fuller, lusher sound than is often found on David E. Williams recordings, which are frequently recorded at home on a four-track or eight-track set-up.
The title track ‘Hello Columbus’ opens with a startling blast of industrial white noise, before settling down into sedate piano and vocals for the first two verses. David E. Williams’s voice, a low, wavering drawl, is a stumbling block for many, and it’s an acquired taste to be sure, but his lyrics are consistently original and brilliant. It’s hard to see how the themes of this song relate to Christopher Columbus, apart from the obvious comparison being made between sexual conquest and territorial conquest. ‘Hello Columbus’ includes references to rape, sodomy and water-sports, in Williams’ characteristically iconoclastic manner: "I penetrate her anus with a civilizing spirit." The song expands after the first chorus into a massive, glossily produced, bombastic goth rock production number, something like Nine Inch Nails. The opening of ‘Not A Gear At All’ is less grandiose, and its sparse sound had me, not for the first time, admiring Jerome Deppe’s bass playing - he’s really an excellent bassist. The string quartet sweeps in for the choruses, but the song is basically a ballad for piano and voice, with a drum machine coming in towards the end – it’s a shame there aren’t real drums here, I think they’d have sounded better. The arrangement and overall feel of this song reminded me of John Cale, a songwriter with a lot in common with David E. Williams – they’re both fond of mixing beauty and ferocity, and they both derive a lot of their power from the cognitive dissonance of effortlessly lovely music and blackly humorous lyrics. ‘Listen Somewhat Awkward’ commences with distant, predatory chords from a downtuned guitar, building into loud and harsh industrial metal as David laments the eternal gulf of misunderstanding between the sexes. A periodic, searingly high note adds an abrasive edge to the sound. All in all, it’s interesting to hear what a big-budget David E. Williams sounds like, but unless a major label deal is forthcoming, which doesn’t seem too likely, I wouldn’t come to expect it. Hello Columbus can be purchased direct from the official David E. Williams website.
www.davidewillliams.com
www.myspace.com/davidewilliams
