Refused – The Shape of Punk to Come

FUTURE HARDCORE… 20 YEARS LATER

-Dominic McNulty

Listening on: Tidal via a Macbook Pro, Chord Mojo, Shure SE 215

Punk Reborn

On the 27th October 1998, ‘Refused’ released ‘The shape of punk to come: A Chimerical Bombination in 12 Bursts’ and unknown to me at the time-(young and trying to work out how to squeeze a passable sound out of various musical instruments) this record would have a profound impact on myself and many millions in the years to come. 

Its traction was slow to manifest however and it took years before ‘Refused’ permeated the hearts and minds of their loyal fan base. It took complete collapse, an implosion under their own artistic ambition for refused to achieve commercial success. So high was their expectation of greatness and so feverish their anger at a lack of it after release, that like a celestial body wheezes its final breath in a supermassive explosion, so too did Refused collapse and die. Refused Were Fucking Dead… for a time.

‘Refused’

Dennis Lyxzén- Vocals

Kristofer Steen-Guitars, bass, drums

Jon Brännström-Guitars, samples, programming, synthesizers

David Sandström-Drums, Melodica, Guitars

Magnus Björklund-Bass Guitar, Cello

Additional Instrumentation

Torbjörn Näsbom- Viola

Jakob Munck- Double Bass

Pelle Henricsson- Tambourine

Production

Eskil Lövström-Recording, Production, Mixing, Mastering

Pelle Henricsson-Recording, Production, Mixing, Mastering

Andreas Nilsson-Sound Technician,Recording, Production, Mixing, Mastering

Groove was THE word 

The Album was recorded late 1997 at ‘Toteknik Bomba Je’ studios, Sweden. See the studio’s current equipment list HERE. A point of interest comes from producer Pelle Henricsson, ‘We did not use Pro tools at all. The shape was recorded on 24 track 2 inch tape and occasional ADAT’s (Alesis Digital Audio Tape) in sync when the 24 tracks wasn’t enough…Overall the whole recording had groove as THE key word, maybe thats why it’s still a cool record?!’. 

The use of tape can be heard immediately, there is an earthy quality to it, imprecise, dare I say it-warm. In the context of this album it works entirely, rubbing audio dirt around the edges as if to patina the sound stage with an entirely pleasurable grime. I have not heard the vinyl version of this album but listening to the Master Quality version on Tidal, played back through a Chord Mojo DAC, I get a sense of the time, effort and labour that was taken to work each sound into the mix.  Each instrument is precise in its performance yet imperfect in its overall timbre, as if it were the product of happy accident-the engineer adding just that extra 2 decibels of lower mid to cement in the bass guitar before the track was bounced down. This is how tape should be used, as an artistic embellishment, the glue between musical ideas and sounds, not as a buzz word trophy to aid in the publicity of a record.

Cyber punk–

The intro to ‘The Shape’ — ‘Worms of the senses/Faculties of the skull’-offers up a street scene with ambient ramblings followed by a screeching feedback loop of  Gibson Humbucker through a Roland space echo or some other delay unit-designed only to do one thing, inflict harm on your ears. Be wary, if you are playing this album, you are required by the music gods to crank that volume and if your system is in any way treble heavy… lock your children away for the duration!

This tension gives way: the band drops in at fifth gear, bouncing back and forth in a pit inspiring fury, a precursor for the rest of the album. Rhythmical variants of this phrasing shift back and forth accompanied by searing vocals from Dennis Lyxzen, you will not find any academic musical exploration here-only uncensored feeling and political angst.  

‘Worms of the senses’ leads into ‘Liberation Frequency’- A musical plateau where the metronomic ticking of the snare’s rim keeps your foot tapping before the band continue their stereo assault. It is these moments of calm tension that are required in order to balance the record as a whole-to prevent pure exhaustion for the listener from setting in. 

The main event follows-‘The deadly Rhythm’ starts in a Jazz bar. You can taste the old cigar smoke, the cheap watered down whisky… the band is firing up and the compare builds the anticipation. A quick-fire modal trill on a saxophone throws the listener into a whirlwind of snap guitar/drum mastery. I have never come across a drum performance that has been so wild yet so integrated into an arrangement, snapping seamlessly with the other players. 

David Sandström’s drum work  produces spell binding performances throughout this record but here-particularly in the last moments of ‘Deadly Rhythm’ you can get a sense of the level of craft he attains-executing razor blade precision, mixed with imaginative flare. For further viewing see a live version HERE in all its low fi glory.

‘Summer Holidays vs Punkroutine’ has an almost “pop like” quality to it and is possibly the most ‘punk’ sounding track on the record, powerful drum grooves and relatively simplistic riffs give the listener a little respite. This then leads to a synth based interlude-‘Bruitist Pome’, serving as a departure. For me, this could be the product of a long night in the studio mixed with a sample of non prescription hallucinogens-up for debate I guess!

‘New Noise’ cranks up the gigawatts again, the bands lead single for the record. ‘Kerrang’ and ‘MTV 2’ were the only channels on after hours in our house growing up and this was one tune that always got turned up, watch the video HERE. Crushing riffs and cool haircuts. Check out the outro to the track where the bass guitar crunches in and out, adding low end and keeping an otherwise simple riff varied in its arrangement. 

‘Refused party program,’ another quick fire assault on the ear canal with an incredible drum furore in its final moments. ‘Refused are Fucking Dead’ and ‘The shape of punk to come’ flesh out the bands ability to explore complexed arrangements, taking the listener from poised premeditation to deadly rhythmic punch and at the point where there is nothing left to give, ‘Tannhäuser/Derive’ cuts through with a wonderful viola solo.

You can hear the tension in the bow, the sadness in the players phrasing, shortly followed by Sändstrom with some stadium filling snare/kick combo… the track starts to build. Layer by layer it develops, a great chance to hear the tonality of the sounds, commanding their own space within the mix. Watch a post reunion live performance of the track HERE. 

Finishing with ‘The Apollo Program was a Hoax’, the music finally relaxes, a combination of Double Bass and set back vocals with acoustic guitar, sparsely recorded including room sounds. The chairs creak and you can hear the edges of the room-its a bewildering track almost child like in its presentation and it marks the end of this album.

10 Great Moments–

Track 1-First drop on ‘Worms of the senses’-01:01

Track 3-Sax leading into ‘Deadly Rhythm’-00:10

Track 3-Double Bass break down on ‘Deadly Rhythm’-01:38

Track 6-Guitar Riff starting ‘New Noise’-00:00

Track 6-‘Here we Go!’ beginning the outro on ‘New Noise’-03:49

Track 7-‘The Refused Party Program’ Drops in-00:26

Track 7-Drum fills on ‘The Refused Party Program’-01:24

Track 9-Bass guitar Drops in on ‘Refused are Fucking Dead’-03:03

Track 10-‘The Shape of Punk to Come’ epic intro drops for the 2nd time-00:41

Track 11-‘Tannhäuser / Derivè’ Intro including viola and drums-00:01

Pain meets Pleasure–

Having returned to ‘The Shape’ time and time again, I am always left feeling partly bewildered and partly exhausted after listening, that and a sense of satisfaction. It puts me back to a time where musicality and expression was alive and screaming. When artistic minds were able to explore with less external influences affecting their ideas. It is a record that is bursting with artistry, both in the technical domain as well as the musical and I do not hesitate to recommend this Album as a ‘McPlaylist Must Have’ piece of modern musical history. No matter if you are the casual car listener or purist Audiophile, ‘The Shape of Punk to Come’ has beauty in its details and elegance in its delivery that will keep you coming back for more, no matter how painful that might be.