Present

The Wedding Present have been unanimously despised by the British music press following a brief honeymoon period in the mid-'80s. When they announced their desire to issue a single a month for a whole year, one particularly caustic Melody Maker journalist pointed out that she now had two low spots in her monthly cycle to endure. It must also be said that RCA were not too enamored of the projected release schedule when David Gedge first put his idea to them. For many, though – including discerning onlookers like long-standing friend and supporter John Peel – The Wedding Present's single-a-month blitz in 1992 was one of the highlights of that year. The band were at their peak: They'd just recorded their best record, Seamonsters, with Steve Albini, and they were beginning to stretch their sound beyond the coy romanticism of old. However, the real joy of the singles – good as they were – was Gedge's esoteric choices for B-sides, including the Go-Betweens' "Cattle and Cane," Altered Images' "Think That It Might" (Gedge was a huge fan of their overlooked Bite album), and the Monkees' "Pleasant Valley Sunday." Diverting, original, and great fun.

Present's dark vision is alive and well (so to speak) on this live disk, and the vision is perhaps even more congenial to the modern audience than it was at the time of its inception back in 1981. Present's leader, electric guitarist Roger Trigaux, had also been a founding member of the slightly earlier and equally dark Univers Zero, and in the late '70s and early '80s, the music of these two Belgian groups was strong stuff indeed and strictly for cultists…

Following their uncompromising and psychotic debut album, the similary styled "Le Poison Qui Rend Fou" isn't something to joke about either. This time around, Roger Trigaux' songwriting tends to be more diverse and less minimalist sounding, keeping the hypnotic and gloomy moods present on Triskaidekaphobie only with a slightly less demanding approach…

Present was the brainchild of Univers Zero guitarist Roger Trigaux, showing his compositional skills outside that band teamed up with UZ drummer Daniel Denis, bassist Christian Genet and the relatively unknown Alain Rochette on the keyboards…

Univers Zero guitarist Roger Trigaux left the group after their second release, Heresie, and formed Present. This reissue combines 1980's Triskaïdékaphobie with 1985's Le Poison Qui Rend Fou. Trigaux was joined on the 1980 debut by Univers Zero drummer Daniel Denis and bassist Christian Genet, who played on Univers Zero's first release. Le Poison Qui Rend Fou maintains the same lineup, except that bassist Ferdinand Philippot replaces Genet on electric bass…

After a long hibernation (roughly a decade), Present rises from its ashes with this strange format, consisting of only Roger Trigaux and his son Reginald, both on guitar, vocals and percussion. Released in 93 with a sombre artwork, reminiscent of the original UZ's Heresie artwork, this album contains only three tracks, all of them filled with awesome guitar works for a total of almost 50 minutes, and was recorded just a stone's throw from the French boder…

"High Infidelity" is PRESENT's most complex and best album so far. The opening 27 minutes long six-part composition "Souls For Sale" are one of the best songs ever written by guitarist and bandleader Roger Trigaux (ex. UNIVERS ZERO). The music is intense, hard-edged and dark and the addition of a brass section makes the music even better and more dynamic…

A few changes compared to their previous returning albums, most noticeably Daniel Denis and Alain Rochette gone, finding suitable replacements in Dave Kerman and Pierre Chevalier. Roger Trigaux is also taking a bit of a backseat because of his declining health; he is taking on the role of musical director and composer only playing guitar on one track. Ex-bassist Guy Segers has now moved up a step into being their manager. This album was recorded in Israel, but mixed in Belgium, but more significantly, it was not released by Cuneiform but by Carbon 7 , a small but adventurous Belgian label also handling Aka Moon, amongst other…