when i was picking up my first pelican record and came across this coalesce record in the kingsroad europe e-store, it dawned on me that this was quite the same story. just like pelican, i heard the name coalesce multiple times before and knew vaguely that it was up my alley, as they had been compared to converge quite frequently. so, when i saw the band's first full length as a fancy re-press on some lovely colour vinyl, i had no excuse anymore.
no sleep records from the united states did this latest re-press from five years ago, while relapse records released the double cd version. the label pressed the re-mastered original onto the first record and the re-mixed version from 2001, going by the name of "give them rope she said v2.0", onto the second record. the two versions do not differ that much, so i doubt the necessity of that double release. anyway, it's the right thing for the die hard fan and for me a good way to get into coalesce's stuff.
relapse and no sleep went for the original artwork instead of the art used for the v2.0 remix from 2004. a good choice in my book. another nice take are the liner notes by guitarist jes steineger. i love such information added by the personal memory of people involved. it gives the listener a better understanding of the tunes resonating from needle and groove. in this case it must have been tough and confusing days for the band members without money and with borrowed and semi-professional equipment.
the outcome however is pretty intense. it is one of those records that don't click with me at first listen, but nevertheless i feel that "give them rope" is worth every second spent listening and it grows on me with every spin i give it. the presentation is great. i already talked about the gatefold. the vinyl colours chosen are sharp too. i love the tan marble for the first disc. the dark blue marble with the v2.0 remix doesn't look too bad either. 500 copies pressed. no sleep records. 2011.
