Manic Compression
Track Listing
- Backward
- Delusional
- Divorce
- Simpleton
- Skinny (It's Overflowing)
- Thorn in My Side
- Landmine Spring
- Blister
- Brown Gargantuan
- East 3rd St.
- Supergenius
- It Would Be Cooler If You Did
Album Review
Like many other Quicksand enthusiasts, I kind of wrote this one off after hearing it. For whatever reason, it didn't resonate with me like its predecessor, Slip.
Looking back, I found this album didn't have the kind of groove and hard-hitting sound that Slip did and, honestly, I was probably moving on from my fanboyish love of all things post-hardcore by the time this came out. So Manic Compression maybe didn't get a fair chance.
Listening to it today, I'd say I probably prefer it to Slip overall. The songs on MC are short and extremely catchy; more stuff in the vein of Slip's "Lie and Wait." Groove-heavy, with catchy bass lines.
One thing is for sure: Schreifels and Co. were masters at locking into a groove and, at the same time, providing an extremely catchy hook that would propel the songs forward, usually supplied by the very underrated bass player Sergio Vega. Take, for instance, "Thorn in My Side," which has a descending bass line running almost constantly throughout the song. It's a bass line that will get caught in your head, and it will not let go. "Skinny (It's Overflowing)" and "Delusional" are similar to this as well.
Great interplay between Schreifels and Capone on every tune. It's fun to listen to what both guitars are doing in every song because they're doing such radically different things but, at the same time, playing off each other so well. Every song is like that.
Too bad Quicksand couldn't keep it together for a longer period of time, but it's great that they could leave two powerful albums in their wake; two albums that sound just as vital and immediate as they did almost two decades ago.
A second listen
Manic Compression feels wound tighter than Slip. The low end still gives Quicksand their center of gravity, but the guitars seem more impatient, cutting across each other in short bursts and leaving rough edges exposed. There is less room to settle into the band's sound before another detail demands attention. That makes the record exciting, though it also takes away some of the easy physical pull of the debut.
"Backward" gets straight to that restless quality. Alan Cage keeps the rhythm moving beneath guitar parts that tug in different directions, and Walter Schreifels sounds caught inside the arrangement rather than standing comfortably above it. "Delusional" brings the hooks into clearer focus without smoothing everything out. Its appeal comes from how naturally a memorable vocal phrase can emerge from such busy surroundings.
The real pleasure is following individual instruments through the songs. Sergio Vega's bass rarely feels like an afterthought, and on "Thorn in My Side" it gives the track a line to follow through all the scraping guitar texture. Schreifels and Tom Capone leave each other room to work, making their parts feel like separate arguments that somehow arrive at the same point. "Skinny (It's Overflowing)" benefits from that same balance of movement and friction.
"Landmine Spring" offers one of the album's strongest combinations of atmosphere and force. Quicksand understand how a passage can feel heavier when the surrounding music opens up, and the changes in density give the song a welcome sense of scale. Elsewhere, the compact writing keeps the record moving, even when a riff or vocal melody needs a few listens to register.
That constant tension is also the album's limitation. Some songs pass by with more energy than distinction, and the tightly packed arrangements can make the middle stretches feel crowded. Slip's best moments had a little more space around them; here, the band sometimes seems reluctant to let a strong idea breathe. Still, Manic Compression has enough sharp hooks and absorbing interplay to reward the extra attention. It is a worthwhile follow-up from a group whose rhythm section alone could make a familiar guitar sound feel newly interesting.
Quicksand • Listen on Bandcamp • Top 15 Quicksand Songs
