This took way too long.
I’d initially planned to cover Phrases and Numbers first, as that was Infusion’s first album. That was back in 2020. Then I decided to go based on order of what I’d first heard, which was Six Feet Above Yesterday. I think that was in 2021, or 2022, and I think I’d started writing some notes around then and those were getting into how I came across Infusion and the whole way to getting Phrases and Numbers, though thankfully I hadn’t written out everything.

Essentially it was a lot of bloat that I didn’t feel worked.

The draft that the below is based off was formed off some of the initial notes, and mostly written a few months ago when I worked out a way to go forward, as I wasn’t sure of how I wanted to say what I wanted to say for a long time. Then I sat on it a bit as I wasn’t sure.

It was also about a thousand words longer.

I’d occasionally open the draft, think about it, not be sure of how to proceed, close it. A few days ago I started forcing my way through, cutting here and there, rewriting, trying to make the thing make sense, and… it turned out okay, which I think is the best that can be said.

Went to publish yesterday afternoon, but then I started making a few more tweaks for readability, but I got to a point where I felt I had to stop as I’d just keep going if I didn’t.

Overall, I’m satisfied with what I wrote, more so for getting it published than its quality. I said what I wanted to say, though it definitely could be said better, I think.

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I hope you enjoy.

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Way back when I was somewhere around twelve or thirteen or fourteen I was into Paul Oakenfold. Still am a bit, though the interest certainly has faded over time. Anyway, some time into listening to his music and my mum got me Greatwall for Christmas. I wasn’t sure as to how I felt about it. Some stuff registered, some didn’t. However, one song that really clicked was the Junkie XL remix of Infusion’s “Legacy”.

I played that song a lot.

Anyway, I kind of forgot about Infusion (or didn’t) until their release of “Girls can be Cruel”. I can’t remember if I realised it was the same people behind “Legacy” straight away (I have a vague recollection of realising at some point around then, but it may have taken some time), but I know I found the song to be enjoyable.

I can’t remember how – it likely was a radio interview – but I’d heard that Infusion were releasing a new album: Six Feet Above Yesterday. My memory of the time bleeds together a bit, but I’d also heard “Better World” at some time around then. I thought the music video was pretty interesting, and there was something in the song that was appealing, and so my anticipation for the album increased. I was looking forward enough to it to go into Virgin Music in Sydney CBD to see if it had released before the release date.

Around then I was also spending a bit of time listening to one of Wild FM’s (96.9 was the frequency, if I remember correctly) evening shows and would occasionally get lucky enough to win stuff from that particular show. My first vinyl was from them, and so was my copy of Six Feet Above Yesterday.

I had to go up to Five Dock Post Office to collect it. I did, and soon I had the album in my hands. Played it a few times and it grew on me, and I put it down and picked it up again. I played it more… you know, the usual cycle of going through music that pulls you in over time.

Eventually “Natural” came out. I remember listening to Six Feet… after that and wondering why it wasn’t on the album but “Love and Imitation”, the song “Natural” is an edit of, was. Anyway, I ended up buying “Natural” and enjoying it. I also bought the special edition release of Six Feet… when that was released. By that point I was a big fan of the sounds contained within, and how they progressed and changed. I liked the songs individually and collectively, and was most drawn to “Daylight Hours”; enough to write down the lyrics so I could learn them.

Anyway, this preamble has been too long. You get the idea. Now onto the amble.

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Six Feet Above Yesterday starts with “Better World”. You get a brief build of tension before the sudden smack of harsh guitar against a darker, moodier pulse. Vocals call out with the right amount of anger. It’s an aggressive track with a pointed message, and it makes good use of pop sensibilities in a context that isn’t quite pop. It also says a lot about not quite expecting the same as what Infusion has done prior, and so it works well as an opener.

After you get “The Careless Kind”. Whilst “Better World” is a good opener, in ways “The Careless Kind” better represents Six Feet… overall. The album is willing to go wide and open up quite a bit in places, and be less claustrophobic at times; not that it quite is, but a good few of the songs contain this sort of enclosed sound and feel. Another way to put it is that some of the songs feel more expansive and less “linear”, whereas others press down and become narrow. “The Careless Kind” straddles the line. It’s heavy and driving, but it doesn’t have the same kind of intensity and weight that songs like “Rattlewasp” do. It’s willing to open up a bit more and let in a little bit of breathing space.

From there the album moves on to a bridging track of sorts. “Feeding From the Hand” leans into Infusion’s more club-oriented side and connects “The Careless Kind” to “Girls Can Be Cruel”. It has a strong. steady beat behind it whilst it gradually changes as it moves toward the next song. It’s not necessarily a standout and it’s not meant to be, so it’s effective as it is.

“Girls Can Be Cruel” is an oddity in that it’s a rock song, but it’s also for clubbing all the way through. The beat pumps hard and its sounds are aggressive and driving in all the right ways for dancing. It’s also the weakest track in that, whilst enjoyable, it doesn’t do much. Most of the album is variable and so it fits, and in a sense the song’s also demarcation point in that after it the album moves more toward its variability. Overall there isn’t anything lost by the song being here. It being the weakest is due to it not offering as much as the others; it still holds up as what it is.

“Love and Imitation” is an interesting instrumental in how it plays with club music and atmosphere to create something evocative. As mentioned early on, “Natural” is a single edit of “Love and Imitation”, and though it’s not on the album, it’s worth mentioning here.

“Natural” recontexualises “Love and Imitation” into something more “pop”, and provides a good example of Infusion’s ability to twist their atmospheric side into something less so. It also doesn’t erase “Love and Imitation”. Both sound and feel good, and both offer differing perspectives on the same set of sounds. Essentially, one doesn’t supersede the other. “Natural” is effective in giving an idea of what’s on the album, whilst “Love and Imitation” fits better with the album’s overall flow and changes.

From there the album goes to its most expansive song, “Daylight Hours”. There has been a bit of a mix beforehand, but it’s here where Infusion really let themselves spread out. What “Daylight Hours” does is organically blend the softer side of Infusion with the harder. The result is this spreading, progressive piece of atmospheric music that just flows.

“Invisible” sounds calm, drifting, gentle… There’s a little sadness and apprehension in it, but overall the song lightly floats along whilst encapsulating a sense of the cinematic. It brings the album into an ease that allows for “Best in Show” to pull up from. What “Best in Show” is is a rather energetic track, but it still feels open. It’s as though some part of “Invisible” kept going and was taken onboard, thus keeping a bit of space to work with rather than press down on.

From there the album rolls into “Rattlewasp”, “Dream” and “We Follow. I Fly.”. The first two make use of harshness in differing ways, with “Rattlewasp” having a lot of pressure and urgency, and coming off as panicked. “Dream” goes for a slower and more foreboding pace and mood. Its lyrics seem to offer a hope for some sort of ideal, but also come off as despondent.

“We Follow. I Fly” also feels foreboding, and perhaps darker. It’s the heaviest piece of music found on Six Feet Above Yesterday, at least in terms of atmosphere. It makes use of slow-moving sounds to permeate, feels bleakly minimal, menacing. The end allows some space, but what was before still lurks; it doesn’t quite feel like the mood has lifted.

The penultimate “Always There” lifts up from the darkness, and it has this real affirming feel to it. The sound and beat are driving, and – at least lyrically – it’s kept pretty simple and straightforward. Vocals keep things calm, but there’s an excitement, maybe, or at least a confidence in reliance; in trust, in knowing, and it’s a pleasant song. It’s that bit of uplift, of looking back through what came before and looking ahead with less uncertainty.

“Continental Drift” closes off Six Feet Above Yesterday. Perhaps calling it a catharsis piece is hyperbolic, but it does have a sense of relief and outpouring to it. “Always There”, started that relief and “Continental Drift” is where weight is fully taken off. Maybe instead of that, it’s marveling at the insignificance of oneself compared to the massiveness of the planet. I don’t know, but it’s a beautiful way to end the album.

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In either 2009 or 2010 I was fortunate enough to see Infusion at The Annandale. Whilst there I talked to Manny Sharrad, got names mixed up, then told him about how I thought Six Feet Above Yesterday was their most organic-sounding album. Sometimes I feel embarrassed by the memory, but I stand by what I said. Infusion haven’t released a bad album, but it’s on Six Feet… where everything sounds most natural. Its textures and moods congeal into something greater than the sum of its parts. It reveals itself over time without feeling like you have to force yourself to work with it.

Back in 2004 Six Feet Above Yesterday sounded like the future to me, especially “Daylight Hours”. I think about the time from then to seeing Infusion at The Annandale, and I think about how everything seemed to take forever. Still seems that way sometimes. Anyway, it’s an album that sounds of its era, and perhaps that was always going to be the case. However, even though all of this time has passed since it came out, it still sounds like the future.