Like its predecessor,
Automating, Vol. 2 gathers up
Nurse With Wound tracks from several hard-to-find various-artist compilations, mostly from the mid- to late '80s. One might not think a collection of diverse tracks would be as cohesive as a regular
NWW album, but all the material is strong, and with some added studio trickery and even melding two tracks together in the case of "Elderly Man River" and "Dance of Fools," volume two comes together extremely well. "The Strange Play of the Mouth" starts off with a loop of a woman singing, and then after half a minute the electronics kick in to create a surreal sonic collage, even throwing in snatches of show tunes like "My Favorite Things." The
NWW take on "Old Man River" goes in a similar direction, as the piece rides on a clunky rhythm while lots of odd sounds rise and fall, ending with the loopy poetry, spoken by Diane Rogerson, on "Dance of Fools." Whereas the first side has similarities to the Sylvia and Babs record, the first track on side two moves in a direction similar to Spiral Insana, with the stabs of organ tones over a constantly changing soundscape, though with a more glacial feel. This is followed by the more spoken-word-oriented "Human Human Human" offering a futuristic vision where pets become food for people, and finally "Lea Tantaaria," based on a painting by insane-asylum inmate Adolf Wolfli. The CD adds as a bonus track "New Dress," another piece with a spoken-word component that also appeared on the
NWW/
Stereolab CD Crumb Duck. ~ Rolf Semprebon