The only reason to buy this record is to remix it. After his recent reunion with Alan Vega on 2002's American Supreme, Suicide's behind-the-boards man, Martin Rev, offers thirteen new tracks in search of songcraft. Since Rev is the funny old uncle of electroclash, who probably wears his shades in the shower and sleeps in leather bedsheets, To Live obviously has no difficulty sounding cool: his production is a physical assault, the music marching through what sounds like Boeing's biggest wind tunnel. In fact, playing it on cheap, tinny speakers seems to enhance it: all the colors bleed out to leave a violent, blaring grey of guitars and drum machines that loop in hammers through each song, too rusty to be industrial and too open-air to pass for tidy dance music.
Except the final product is never a "song." Rev eschews choruses and bridges, which would be a fair enough approach if the verses consisted of something other than just breathy, inexpressive whispers. He muffles the lyrics so much that sometimes you can only make out the first few words: for one example, "Places I Go" goes, "Places I go/ [mumble mumble]/ [Something] I [something]/ whsssssssss." It's astounding to think what Rev could have had if only he'd brought a few decent vocalists in on the project to work off the beats, or replace the frankly vacuous lyrics, or to just give the record a focal point. As it stands, it's hard to imagine a bigger waste of great backing tracks.
If you could break up the monotony that each of these tracks quickly and effortlessly slips into, you'd have amazing productions: each track starts off like a slap in the face, from the overdriven lounge music of "Gutter Rock" to "Search for Stone"'s lithe keyboard hook. The roiling vibes on "Jaded" are spacy yet smooth, and the fuzzy-noise keyboard instrumental "Shimmer" evokes the feeling of having the wax removed from your ears and then plugged back in again.
Suicide and Martin Rev fans could eat this up if they hone in on the good parts, but it's hard to guess why Rev considered these songs complete. To Live sounds like a workbook, full of half-formed ideas and tracks that show incredible potential if fleshed out. Unfortunately, even as a solo statement it offers few clues to Rev's vision beyond his bluntest, most consistent aesthetic preferences: the range of ideas is as limited as the sound palette, and Rev's still hiding behind the sunglasses.
