Wishmountain – Wishmountainisdead

Wishmountain is Dead is indeed Wishmountain’s last hurrah. After several singles on the much missed Universal Language Productions label, this compilation shows Herbert’s penchant for taking sounds from everyday objects and making music from them. Hence, tracks like “Pepperpot,” “Jam Jar,” and “Crisps” are self-explanatory in terms of the objects used. “Bottle” takes the basic sounds and transforms them into something like ‘pop’ music, while “Salad Tosser” becomes a rhythmic clatter. “Royal Wedding,” on the other hand, abstracts the vows from the marriage of Prince Charles and Diana until they finally rectify themselves at the end. “The Cough,” co-produced by Global Communication, takes their musical sensibility and merges it with the cough samples. The final track, “Rose,” is pure ambient bliss. It’s a wonderful collection of Wishmountain’s groundbreaking work, which paved the way for much of modern IDM.