THE FUSES ARE LIES. The Fuses were a beat combo from the Baltimore/DC region of the Mid-Atlantic United States. Between 1997 and 2001, they recorded three albums, ruined at least ten electric guitars, and survived five US tours in a vandalized Ford Econoline with no windows, seat belts, seats, or air conditioning before officially retiring in 2007. Brendan and Kevin played guitar and sang. Lee played the drums. Mark played bass first, then Pete, despite Pete's reasonable objections that he neither owned nor played the bass guitar. (He figured it out.) In an era when indie rock and punk actually made money, the band's closest brushes with success were being heckled by the Rapture at Brownie’s and meeting Joey Ramone. Critics described them variously as: a panic attack set to music; aggressively minimalist; android mannequins; ART-holes; creepy machines; repetitive; spastic; STEELY MEAT HOOKS; too much head, not enough heart; and a little tough to figure out. Recommended for fans of: late capitalist disappointment, the Stranglers' "Black & White," the Zombies' "Butcher's Tale," and the Australian noise rock band X.
Song Notes
This batch of songs was written in 1998 during the transition period between the Fuses' first and second albums. The "Elbow In Your Eye" session was the Fuses' first recording with Pete on bass. Everything prior had been done in modern (if cheap) multi-track studios: digital recorders; isolated instruments; mistakes fixed with punches or hidden with overdubs; vocals separate from everything else. Recording with Pierre at Mapleshade was a completely different experience, closer to recording a big band in the 1940s than a punk band in the 1990s. All the instruments and vocals were recorded at once through a stereo pair of massive custom made microphones suspended in the air like giant ears and printed onto reel-to-reel tape. Do it right, or do it again. Do it live, or don't do it at all.
Pierre valued accuracy. Realism. He didn't invite us into his studio to make us play jazz. There was no adjusting the amps, turning down the volume, nor demands for a staid, less frantic performance. Instead, he moved our amps and drums and bodies around the studio until all his ears were hearing us correctly. The result was that, for the first time, our guitars sounded how we actually wanted them to sound. No small thing. Revelatory, in fact.
The original analog tapes of this recording session survived the 2007 fire at Mapleshade Studio. They were restored and transferred by Paul Gold at Salt Mastering to create the 24/96 digital master for this EP. Although originally intended for a stand-alone release, the session became an impromptu demo for the second Fuses album. In April '99, we re-created Pierre's atmospheric, physical guitar sound with the addition of heavy drums and fuzz bass multi-tracked in the wide open industrial spaces of ACR Audio in Baltimore. All of the original songs tracked at Mapleshade were re-recorded at ACR and were included on the following releases:
• "In Love With Electricity" split-12” vinyl album with the Uniform on Morphius Records, 1999.
• "Are Lies" CD on Reptilian Records, 2000.
We never re-recorded the Wire song, but we did play it live for Eldon on his birthday.
Production Credits
Recorded at Mapleshade's Beechwood Studio in Upper Marlboro, Maryland in early Spring 1999
Produced by The Fuses and Eldon W. Baldwin
Recorded by Pierre Sprey
Mastered by Paul Gold, Salt Mastering
A/D transfer using a Telefunken M15 deck and Prism AD2 converter
Cover design by Eldon W. Baldwin
More Info
https://www.discogs.com/artist/884223-The-Fuses
