Out of print on vinyl for years we are happy to finally offer Trans Am's 1998 album The Surveillance on vinyl again. Pressed on high quality virgin vinyl and including all original artwork - a fully artworked inner sleeve and for the first time a download coupon!
Paranoid
America
has
surrendered to its
insecurity. We have
surrounded ourselves with
a million cameras,
alarms, and home security
systems promising an
armed response to all
intruders. When this
fails, our fear moves us
to gated "communities" —a
return to the walled
towns of the Dark
Ages.
Surveillance
Despite
all the extreme
measures we've taken to
gain some peace of mind,
we still can't shake the
feeling we're being
watched, counted,
manipulated. Perhaps we
have focused so
excessively on prowlers
and other dark shadows
that we can't feel the
stare of modern
industry's invisible eye.
Today we enjoy virtually
no privacy as the
technology of
surveillance is turned
upon us; our every
consumer move is
observed, analyzed and
filed.
Observation
TRANS AM's third
record, The Surveillance,
is the first record
recorded and mixed
entirely by the band.
Their home studio, the
Bridge, took several
months to build. The
Surveillance was to take
an equal amount of time
as the band labored hard
to give the recording
what they call "a
dangerous quality" .
What is dangerous to
TRANS AM? It is no
noise reduction, no
digital tape compression,
and no computer aided
editing. Instead they
relied on live
performances, hours of
hard work, hands-on
mixing, careful
microphone placement,
and, to quote the band,
"faith in their
experimental vision."
They built the Bridge to
allow themselves this
freedom, and they ran
with it.
The results are raw,
sparse electronic breaks
mixed with diesel-powered
rock and roll. TRANS AM
put it in more masculine
terms—"balls-to-the-wall-
rockers", which perhaps
better capture not only
the sound but the intent.
TRANS AM tour almost
constantly. The
Surveillance captures
the urgent energy of
their live performance.
On the electronic side,
several drum machines,
keyboards and effects
processors have been
added to their
tremendously outdated
arsenal, though TRANS AM
are unwilling to divulge
the specifics. Paranoid?
Hardly. Some things are
just too important to
share.
When asked to describe
the results of the
careful construction
known as The
Surveillance, TRANS AM
merely stated, this is "A
no bullshit album.
