Coil had already gone through two distinct phases by the time this album came along. First was their aggro industrialist work in the mid 80s, then came the early 90s acid house inspired, groovier but no less twisted work on Love’s Secret Domain and the tracks that would be released as Theme From the Gay Man’s Guide to Safer Sex. By the end of the 90s, John Balance was somewhat burned out from chemical and occult exploration, and he and Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson had left London for the English countryside, had connected with modular synthesist and sometime Spiritualized member Thighpaulsandra and were making music inspired by the seasons and phases of the moon. But though the Musick here is broadly ambient, with ripples that hint back to The Orb and Steve Hillage, there’s nothing hippy-dippy about this. Balance’s improvised narratives are chilling and eerie — “are you loathsome tonight” being an early touchstone — and there is discord, imbalance and endless weirdness to the synth swoops and meandering pianos that are impossible to understand and continue to disconcert no many how many times you’ve heard them. At the same time they were working on the fearsome drone barrages that would become Constant Shallowness Leads to Evil and would soon start on the austere mindfuck hypnotism of Time Machines. Far from being a resting point after burnout, this would prove to be the start of their most potently creative and visionary streak.