The Wrong Object - Into the Herd

It’s been about six years since I’ve listened to The Wrong Object’s music. There’s been so many great music out there that I had my ears delved into. And I had almost completely forgotten about The Wrong Object. Until now. This is their follow-up to their 2013 release, After the Exhibition entitled Into the Herd. Released via Off Records and powered by MoonJune Records, this brings them back for another welcoming return for the Belgium sextet.

Listening to their new album, I almost get the feeling that Michel Delville, who launched the band back in 2002, hasn’t forgotten his roots. He’s making sure that the wagons on the wheel don’t accidentally come off. And the wheels themselves haven’t come off for The Wrong Object. And right from the moment I listened to their follow-up release, it shows that they are still going strong and they’re showing no sign of stopping.

From the moment you listen to the opening title-track and Mango Juice, you can tell that Michel channels the styles of Brian Godding (Blossom Toes, Magma). From Pierre’s wah-wah bass introduction, you can tell that the band are going straight back into the Egyptian’s tombs of Emehntehtt-Re to see where the missing clues are hidden.

The snarling tones that Deville brings into the opening composition is almost a revelation on what secrets did the Egyptian king has hidden from every historian buff. And then on the sixth track, it becomes a mysterious thickening plot. And when Melia and Lourtie begin to write down the final pieces of the puzzle from the sax’s, Antoine Guenet’s take of a Terry Riley-sque keyboard section begins to close up the book and finally heading out to see the sun rising.

Another Thing sees the two sax’s going into this surreal fanfare before Delchambre and Delville kick the door down with a gigantic battering ram whilst going into some Twilight Zone-sque sections by seeing and hearing of what the late great Rod Serling will take the viewers into tonight’s story. There is that tidal wave section from the drums that Laurent does to increase the tension for Delville. He begins to release the flaming fires that was inside his heart as he lets it all out on his guitar.

And then Laurent’s drumming closes it off by going into this crescendo as Antoine finishes up the piece by taking his keyboards through time and space. Antoine’s composition of Many Lives, sees him going into a mournful piano section that fills up the void as Laurent, Marti, and Francois go into this unexpected waltz-like figure that have these odd time signatures.

The two saxophonists go into this spiral staircase-like arrangement that nearly goes into a brief section of the Canterbury scene as Antoine goes into the heart and soul of Vince Guaraldi. But then, The Wrong Object time travels into the 1950s as if they’re performing the closing track, Psithurism at a smoky nightclub either in New York or in Paris at around midnight.

You can imagine it’s getting the crowd’s attention to know that they’re into something special of what the band are doing before Antoine channels the styles of Keith Emerson’s clavinet section on Tank and Kerry Minnear’s medieval sections from Gentle Giant as Antoine tips his hat to the two masters.

It is an odd section, but it works well. And then the last minute of the composition at first goes into this clattering section from the drums, but then they come together as one by reaching the finish line as they bring the house down to releasing their energy in their instruments before reaching to an abrupt end.

I have to say that The Wrong Object’s Into the Herd gives the band a chance to be back in action once more. It’s almost as if the band have finally unleashed the hounds to come back with a vengeance. Now if you are a newcomer to The Wrong Object’s music, I would definitely recommend both After the Exhibition and their new release, Into the Herd.