SUICIDE

Surrender (Mute/BMG)

Surrender is not a greatest hits or best of, but a primer to one of the most uncompromising and influential electronic bands to set foot in or out of New York. Alan Vega and Martin Rev’s first two albums as Suicide are well represented here, of course: tracks like Harlem lasso the energy and grime of NYC, while Ghost Rider, a futuristic electronic rockabilly ode, brings to life Marvel Comics anti-hero Johnny Blaze and places him in the mean streets of 1970s Manhattan.

Suicide’s more relentless, pummelling side is offset by quieter moments. Dream Baby Dream is of course correct and present and worth the price of admission alone, and the doo-wop-flavoured, David Lynch movie-worthy title track is taken from Suicide’s third album, 1988’s A Way Of Life: overshadowed somewhat by its predecessors, but equally important and ripe for revaluation. Their fourth, ‘92’s Why Be Blue, soaked up the contemporary sounds of NYC – evident in the eponymous number included here – and Vega and Rev’s final album together, American Supreme, captured the mood of a wounded post-9/11 city and a changing world on its release in 2002. Wrong Decisions and Dachau, Disney, Disco represent it on Surrender.

What makes this release essential, even for Suicide aficionados, is the crystal-clear remaster and the inclusion of non-album tracks: alternative takes of Girl and the menacingly harrowing Frankie Teardrop.

words DAVID NOBAKHT