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Enon Hates New York
By Andrew Steenberg
The second anniversary of 9/11 almost passed me by entirely until Enon mastermind John Schmersal, on the phone from New York, pointed something out to me about Gotham’s current visage: "Things are fucked here right now."
In truth, the same words could be used to describe an Enon album, but that, of course, is why we like them. Last year’s lovable sleeper High Society proved that Enon’s commitment to unorthodoxy and variety allow the band to be bathetic without sounding pathetic, and their new disc Hocus Pocus lays claim to that same distinct quality. Thick, danceable beats, looping synths, and Toko Yasuda’s adorable canine-frequency coo drain every ounce of pretension from their clever brand of electro-indie rock. Although, by Schmersal’s own admission, things aren’t quite as beatific as he may have liked.
"There’s what you think is gonna happen and what actually does happen. But I feel like the record we made is very much about our times and living in New York, and they aren’t very happy times right now. Not to say that the record isn’t fun, but there’s a lot going on right now and I think that the record is a balance of those things."
The inescapable impact of September 11 wasn’t just limited to the band’s creative output. Yasuda, a native of Japan, is currently without a visa and Uncle Sam’s made it damn near impossible to get one of those in terrornoid USA.
"Immigration’s just totally insane right now and we’re not sure what’s gonna happen. She’s reapplying. She’s been here for 11 years doing this, so there’s no reason or question to why she shouldn’t stay.
"We’re supposed to go to Europe and then after that we’re supposed to go to Australia and Japan but essentially, she might not be allowed back in the States. We were actually considering — if it goes the worst way — of maybe regrouping in Montreal."
God bless Enon.
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