Hope Against Hope

The Band Of Susans are considered to be part of New Yorks post No-wave scene of the late eighties which included Sonic Youth, Live Skull and The Swans. Yet they had a lot in common with the British shoe-gazing scene , due to their continued use of sonic textures and nuances, though their overall sound was far more hard edged and abrasive than most bands considered to be part of the shoe-gazing movement.
The band were formed in 1986 and took their name from the fact that three of the members were indeed called Susan.Susan Stenger( bass/vocals) Susan Tallam(guitar) and Susan Lyall(guitar) were the Susans in question and they were joined by Robert Poss( guitar/ vocals) Ron Spitzer(drums) and Alva Rogers on vocals. The three guitars lent the bands music a dense quality with tectonic plates of feedback , distortion and blurred chords all running slightly off-kilter to each other.The songs did have conventional structure and melody though it was often difficult to comprehend these under the shifting walls of noise .
After the release of their debut E.P. "Blessing And A Curse" in 1987 the bands debut album "Hope Against Hope" on the excellent "Blast First" label came out in 1988. I,ts a scabrous overlooked gem of an album. The guitars chaff like hessian on sand or in counterpoint crunch and ring . "Not Even Close", the albums opening track has thunderous percussion with plangent sweet backing vocals under Poss,s urgent bark of a voice. Every track is compelling and dynamic with the urgent "You Were An Optimist" and the truly strident clamorous "Throne Of Blood" especially notable. However its the extraordinary title track that really stands out. Ushered on wispy trails of feedback it builds upon propulsive percussion and then gradated layers of guitars that just build and build in linear waves and blurry chords. It,s one of those tracks like My Bloody Valentine,s "Soon", The Butthole Surfers"22 Going On 23" or Slint,s "Good Morning Captain" that takes guitar music to somewhere completely new.
Despite the loss of two of the Susans( Tallman and Lyall) the band retained their name and the next album " Love Agenda" (1989)was another excellent collection of dichotomous woozy and consumptive songs though it must be said the thrill of hearing the music fresh if you like had naturally palled some what.The late eighties were an incredibly exciting time for guitar music - i would suggest the most exciting time in music history - and that's due as much to under -acknowledged bands like Band Of Susans as it is to more eulogised acts like MBV, The Pixies , Big Black etc as anything. Hope Against Hope is this fine bands finest hour and blows away any of the contemporary contenders with one juddering note. If only one modern band had an ounce of their fire and invention.....some hope.