At long last an impressive 5 CD box-set is now available to purchase directly (or unfortunately, ONLY) from the group’s official website merchandise. Ordering a copy wasn’t at all as easy due to formalities on mail order with Paypal option which many countries still have no support for, so any other chance of laying hands upon ‘Archive’ means patience and other ways through any possible distributor.
I must say I am not sorry for a single penny invested in this masterpiece collection. Well, it is not entirely 10/10 issue but it is not any lower either - for this IS the weirdest electronic noise made on this side of Throbbing Gristle/Cabaret Voltaire.
There are many sides to Portion Control, many of which helped informing electronic music, shaping it up towards harder edgy dancefloor exercised by many of those after them - among possible admirers and apprentices, the ever-present cult groups Nitzer Ebb or Front 242 are not to be missed an example here - ‘Raise the Pulse’, ‘Go Talk’, ‘The Great Divide’, ‘Step Forward’ or ‘Rough Justice’ are just a few examples, bombastic underground funk that stood the test of time, informing at least one third of electronic body sound while on the other hand Portion Control remain avantgarde guerilla electro which owes more to radical language of a certain Muslimgauze, 400 Blows, 23 Skidoo and especially Clock DVA.
Separated on five discs (four as audio overdose, the fifth CD contains MP3s of all four discs in high quality plus exclusive picture archive and brilliant ‘Refugee Rebuild’ in wav format), wrapped in a heavy carboard square slipcase, ‘Archive’ is a bit scattered affair - choosing to put it random contents rather than chronological set up is also welcome for listening to it gives a better perspective - from ‘grey’ white noise to discotheque-friendly (and sometimes a bit dense - take ‘Psycho Bod Saves the World’ which, despite heavy-duty rhythms, seems to be the weakest from the lot, basically serving its documentary purpose).
The greatest strength of ‘Archive’, of course, lays in their more abstract, bruised electronique - brilliant ‘I Staggered Mentally’, ‘Surface and Be Seen’, ‘Hit the Pulse’ and ‘Simulate Sensual’. Voices range between Genesis P-Orridge and Stephen Mallinder although Portion Control cherish vocal melody in their own right - at times singing like potential serial killers (‘Chew You To Bits’) while on the other hand emotional delivery traces one Douglas McCarthy before he actually tested his throat to the mic. Extraordinary parts of glitch ahead of its time (‘Spinola (Blotch)’ from ‘Surface and Be Seen’) aren’t advised to be listened to at high volumes however its irresistable pulse will simply force you to blow your head off everytime you put them on.
For more info please visit http://www.portion-control.net (and grab one :wink: )