Formed in Tempe, Arizona in 1991, Half String were extant for roughly six years, honing a sound considerably more shoegaze than sunbaked during that stretch, and with a healthy quotient of post-punk in the equation. Of EPs, they had a few, but managed only one full-length, A Fascination With Heights, which came out on CD in 1996 via Independent Project Records. Now, the very same label has given that set an expanded reissue of magnificent design on black or clear double vinyl plus bonus 7-inch, with both editions limited, and on numbered CD with a second disc holding the songs from the 45. Expansive and occasionally psychedelic, the unifying elements are solid songs and inspired execution.
It was when guitarist-vocalist Brandon Capps and bassist Tim Patterson convinced Kimber Lanning to join them on drums that Half String was born, with Matt Kruse stepping in on second guitar a couple years later. Those wishing to hear their early work (a pair of 7-inchs, a CD EP and additional songs) are in luck, as Captured Tracks collected it all on double vinyl in 2012 with further unreleased material as Maps for Sleep 1991-1994 (as part of the label’s reissue series The Shoegaze Archives).
In 1994 Patterson exited the band as Dave Rogers stepped in; he’s heard on Maps for Sleep’s last two cuts, “Eyesick” and “Featherweight,” and in full on A Fascination With Heights, which is, unsurprisingly, the band’s most fully realized effort, and even more so now that the reissue adds a solid half hour of bonus material (that’s eight additional cuts, excluding the 7-inch, on the 2LP set, and seven extras on the 2CD).
Half String’s influences aren’t hard to detect, at least in regard to shoegaze. As an exemplar of the style, one would obviously expect My Bloody Valentine to be chief amongst them, but it’s really Ride and Slowdive that make a deeper immediate impression. Half String’s music is reliably melodic, even catchy at times, though not exactly exuberant, which is where the post-punk enters the scheme, and also where the influences get a little harder to pinpoint, at least in terms of specific bands.
Citing the output of certain labels makes more sense, none more appropriate than 4AD, as Half String has been compared Cocteau Twins numerous times over the years, though to my ear, there is a more pronounced similarity to Lush. Mention of Factory Records is also warranted, and the same with Creation, which brings us back into the vicinity of My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Slowdive, Swervedriver, and even the Los Angeles-based act Medicine (who were also included by Captured Tracks in their Shoegaze Archives series).
Subdued but never sullen, Half String occasionally sidle up to the neighborhood of indie pop, especially on side one of this set’s accompanying 7-inch, “Honeycut.” The programmed rhythms of “Pelican (Night Version)” on the flip, an unusual addition to Half String’s stylistic arsenal, deepens the Anglo sensibility, as does the song’s gliding, airy sophistication. There are also a few indie poppish spots on the album proper, e.g. “Backstroke,” which is reminiscent of Close Lobsters or The Wolfhounds, and “Momentum,” a song that’s mid-tempo jangle-lushness brings later, increasingly mature indie pop motions to mind.
On the subject of jangling, Half String have been called, at least once, desert jangle. It’s a description I have no substantial quibble with, except that the band hardly ever strikes my ear as tangibly arid in quality. However, this set’s opening track “Shell Life” does establish a few subtle textural similarities to US indie acts of the period, and in particular the more melodious side of post-Daydream Nation Sonic Youth.
The difference is that unlike a few early ’90s bands, there’s no mistaking Half String for Sonic Youth. One might momentary confuse them for any number of shoegaze bands, but that’s ultimately down to the nature of the style, which is less about big gestures of distinctiveness and more about the intersection of inspiration and immersion.
While that means A Fascination With Heights isn’t a wide-ranging affair, don’t get the idea that all of Half String’s songs sound the same, or even that they succumb to formula. “Hurrah?” is a mildly melancholic strummer, at least until it attains a heavier plateau in the waning moments, but “Departures” is an energetic rocker right out of the starting gate, with the shoegaze textures emerging later in the track.
Even better is how Half String hit their stride late in the original album’s sequence, starting with “Lolligag” into “The Apathy Parade” (also the opening track on Source: The Independent Project Records Collection, a terrific overview of an important, and reactivated, label that was released on CD last year) and peaking with the instrumental “Numbers and Fingers.”
If singing wasn’t Half String’s strong suit, nor was it ever a weak link. But “Numbers and Fingers” does make a good case that they could’ve thrived as a purely non-vocal entity, a possibility that’s reinforced by the instrumental nature of a few of the bonus cuts, with “Stabbing” offering a hint of slowcore and “Seconds Past” combining that with a touch of late Joy Division.
Too often, the additional material that constitutes an expanded edition lessens the impact of the original release. Call it subtraction by addition. Although A Fascination With Heights’ duration is still a little unwieldy for frequent front-to-back listens (unless you’re long-distance commuting in the desert, maybe), exactly the opposite is the case here.
This is mainly because the band’s raison d’être wasn’t sprawling variety, but rather, putting a personal stamp on the parameters of a burgeoning style with intelligence and verve. In offering more, this edition of A Fascination With Heights retains the smarts and the energy and coheres into Half String’s strongest work.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
