Vanishing Point is one of those milestone albums which along with Spiritualized's Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, Radiohead's "Ok Computer and Blur's Blur killed Britpop dead and steered rock music in new direction of high-energy, computer-noise-saturated, mind blowing psychedelia. The album is so rich with all kinds of cosmic noises that it sounds more like rhythmic air raid by the aliens than run-of-the-mill rock opus. As the album is named after a cult road movie "Vanishing Point", speed is a keyword to all its content and the song "Kowalski" may well serve as the band's manifesto: "Speed means freedom of the soul. The question is not when he's gonna stop, but who is gonna stop him...". Surprisingly "Stuka" named after German dive-bomber of World War II, of all things, is a religious song: "I got Jesus in my head like a stinger, he moves from tree to tree in the back of my mind: a ragged shadowy figure" - though I can't tell what kind of religion it is. And of course there's gorgeous and galvanising tune of "Trainspotting". In short Vanishing Point has this beauty of madness feel about it that turns a usual set of songs into a piece of true art.
By: BabeNco.