reviews

from The Big Takeover magazine. USA 2008

Somewhere between the cold, dark electronic pulses of The Eurythmics and the ominous, futuristic tones of Vangelis' Blade Runner soundtrack lay Attrition's stark, despondent vision. There's also quite a bit of Throbbing Gristle in their electronic mode and Red Mecca -era Cabaret Voltaire thrown into the mix for good measure. In the Realm collects tracks Attrition recorded between 1982 and 1986, many of which appeared on various compilations, perhaps most notably Crass Records' collection, Bullshit Detector 3 . Surprisingly, this music isn't dated by today's cynical standards; in fact, it ranks right up there with current bands such as The Sixteens and The Vanishing, both of whom obviously owe Attrition a great deal. Bask in the frigidity of mechanized depression and computerized despair.

from amazon.com - 2000

One of the best Attrition releases ever, taking its title, I assume, from the idea of The Afterlife from Eastern Religion (Buddhist) and the " Realm Of The Hungry Ghosts " (clever and appropriate usage of a title).

From the opening, "Vigil," with its stark, electronic, post-modern edge, you are led "Into The Waves," with its Black Tape... "With My Sorrows" sort of feel (did they get the idea from Attrition for this song?), which are two of the best tracks.
Next is "In Your Hand," with its rapid tempo and murky electronica, is quirky and surreal; next follows "Surge And Run," a langourous song resembling most of those found on the excellent "The Attrition Of Reason," with its fading and surging female voice, Bowe's sing-song voice, melting in, and bizarre electronic effects; the next song, "Marianne's Dream," which seems incongruous at first, but then melts into this slow dream-like song, again, it sounds like something Black Tape... would later use for their "Remnants Of a Deeper Purity," only difference being, that in Attrition's version, surrealism abounds.

Besides the slow, droning, pathos of the song, there are children screaming and...chattering...in the background noise...which makes it seem even more mysterious...then this too fades away, and we're left with that very ominous yet drowing effect and feeling of the drone...for most of the time; "Dreamsleep" follows, with its dark wall of sound, vibrating like broken speakers, with chirping electronica here and there, and a void-like sound, of empty space, which continues to assault its listener, finally breaking into a female voice, which doesn't seem to compliment the austere and surreal music, but nevertheless works out; "The Last Refuge" is next, and sounds like something that could be used for the soundtrack to an Italian horror film, maybe a zombie film by Fulci, replete with a female voice and ominous whispers in the background droning away, against the electronica (here mimicking a cathedral organ, perfect touch); "The beginning of the End" follows -- dark again, refined, Gothic, surreal, resembling the works to be found in the excellent "Smiling At The Hypogonder Club." Along with the strange lyrics, which sounds mad and...well...it's Attrition , what can you say?
Next follows "Questions," which starts out with birds chirping and a slow, piano introduction (resembling the work of Scriabin), with a female voice recounting surreal poetry; next comes the driving "Which Hand," with a slighly angry, or vehement female voice, contrasting against the once again bizarre "horrific" electronic effects, only to meld together in a very tasteful ariatic-like blend, tapering off into a sort of ecstaty of sounds and voices (also angelic background choir), another very excellent song.
Finally, we reach "A Forgotten Dream," with its slow mournful piano, ballad-like intoduction, which continues with more strange effects, like someone blowing into empty bottles, tinny sounds, electronic refuse, glassy notes in the background, very much like a dream deferred, especially as the piano music grows in intensity. The last song "A'dam and E'va" has been featured elsewhere. It has a Gothic feel again, with pipe organ effects and ominous singing and its almost humourous lyrics ("Turning on red lights and swimming in beer fights, dancing on tables, Amsterdam..."

I love Attrition , and if you like really dark Gothic music, you will too.

from Chain DLK. 2008

If you loved the previous reissue "Something Stirs (The Beginning 1981-83)" this new IN THE REALM OF THE HUNGRY GHOSTS is a release you won't miss.
Collecting various compilation tracks coming from the 1983÷1986 period plus a couple of unreleased ones ("Marianne's dream" and "Into the waves"), the album is an in depth voyage through the early Third Mind period of the band. Before composing my personal favorite "Shrinkwrap" and "Pendulum turns" (those two were both coming from "Smiling, At The Hypogonder Club" album and were a good example of alternative electronic danceable tunes), Attrition were experimenting with electronic sounds and dark atmospheres and participated to different great compilation which later have been marked as fundamental for the experimental/industrial scene. Albums like "The elephant table album" or Third Mind's "Life at the top" contained bands like Coil, Chris And Cosey, Muslimgauze, Portion Control, Lustmord, Nurse With Wound and SPK to name few.
The twelve tracks of IN THE REALM OF THE HUNGRY GHOSTS span from ambient electronica with the distinctive female vocal of Julia to dark electro upbeat songs (see "The beginning of the end") with Julia and Martin duets, passing through the spoken word experiments with piano improvisations ("Questions") or the following classical electronics of "Which hand?". IN THE REALM OF THE HUNGRY GHOSTS isn't a collection of tracks which didn't fit an album release but it's a document of the different faces of a band.

Lowlife zine - UK - 1996

"A collection of material dating from 82-84, largely culled from compilations and B-sides. "Into the waves", the second track, is a very dreamy affair, with trance like vocals and rolling string synth sounds that combine to create the desired atmosphere..
"In your Hand" is a very early track (1982) with analogue synth sounds and a regimented feel so often found on early electronic records sends you spiralling back in time to those early Human league releases. "Marianne's Dream", a very somber and gloomy landscape, reminds me of some of the incidental music used in the 1979 version of Nosferatu, creepy stuff that's well enhanced by the tape effects. "A forgotten dream", an instrumental piece, is quite enchanting, great piano work and deserving of a longer version. Rounding off the album "Adam & Eva" heads into Siouxsie territory, mainly for the vocals but also it's quirkiness and fairground feel. Overall, very much a document of foundation and roots."