Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
BY XAVIER JOHNSON
Melissa Auf der Maur hasn’t released any new music in the last 16 years, so it’s understandable you’d be surprised to see a new record come across your feed recently. Best known as the bassist for Hole and later a touring member of Smashing Pumpkins, she also spent much of that time as a multidisciplinary artist as a musician and photographer.
Her new release technically isn’t a “new” album in the usual sense—original tracks recorded in the past few years. Instead, BASS WOMB ROOM: My ‘90s 4-Track Demos x Field Recordings is a collection of decades old demos alongside newly assembled field recordings. This is potentially far more interesting than simply a new record from Auf der Maur.
Despite the grand stages and raucous crowds, BASS WOMB ROOM is a look into the intimate moments captured by an artist caught in a whirlwind of a rising career in the 90s alternative rock scene. The album pairs seven previously unreleased 4-track tape recorder demos made throughout the 90s with eight interludes that were created for an accompanying photography exhibition, Melissa Auf der Maur: My ‘90s Rock Photographs, at the Art Gallery of Ontario, alongside a photo book of the same name. This sets the album apart from a typical release, as it acts as a time capsule for Auf der Maur’s life and music history.
The record evokes the feeling of remembrance. Nothing appears crystal clear. On interludes like “Flesh Flush,” glimpses of the past seep through whether they’re crowd cheers of “We love you Melissa” or her own out-of-context words, popping in and out. Incomplete. Like memories often are. The interlude “Billy Seoul Crowd” features distortion-soaked live crowd noise that shifts into pounding rhythms. “Sparkle Bass” is another one of the snapshot moments of backstage audio.
Many of the tracks also use vocal samples in an analog way. Vocal lines cut in and replay over and over like a tape recorder, as if Auf der Maur is looking back on these past recordings trying to grasp a specific feeling that the clip evokes within her.
While the interludes conjure the feeling of fractured memories from decades past, where details become blurry, the demo tracks act as photographs. These are clear, captured scenes in time recorded by Auf der Maur in her most intimate moments.
The Montreal native’s vocals stand out throughout the demos. From her angelic, droning melodies on “…And The Next Day” to the hauntingly sensual breathy delivery on the Roxy Music cover “Love Is The Drug,” this record highlights the diverse ways she uses her voice. A track like “Sea of Tranquility” is largely punctuated by samples, with her voice acting as a spoken-word guide that works exceptionally well.
As a standalone album, BASS WOMB ROOM is solid. It’s not necessarily an easy listen, nor something I’d argue is intended to just be listened to casually, like any of Auf der Maur’s previous solo albums. However, what’s presented here is a portal to the past that takes a new approach in presentation than most demo releases. And when listened to alongside her photography, the album earns new appreciation because she effectively captures the aura of her visual art through these tracks.
