It's hard to review this record -- not just because it has very little of the cohesion one expects from an "album", but because of the very nature of the band that assembled it. As near as I can tell (and most of this band history is gleaned from the just-under-fourteen-minute "What FWM Has To Say"), the group is something of a country-wide tape mailing project. There is one central member, known as Dave (though there is another who is known only as "MVM" Most Valuable Member), and a number of other people who have participated on one FWM project or another. Anyone who submits a song or idea which is then incorporated into an FWM album is thenceforth a member of the band.

Let's consider "What FWM Has To Say". This is not so much a song as a multi-media interview with various band members, conducted by a member and concerning the history and practices of the band. Many of these interviews are conducted by phone (often by cell phone), and they occasionally become nearly inaudible. As band member Eudean notes, "Because of the way we're set up, I guess in theory, anyone who has a way of communicating with Dave...can be a part of it."

Ideally, this sort of experiment in band membership could lead to really interesting collaborations. Many of the people working in the band have never met each other, a situation we here at Splendid can certainly identify with, and it's clear that sometimes their methods lead to some really interesting music (take a listen to "Recycled Suicide Note"). Unfortunately, the very track that provides all of this information about the band also betrays what can be described as either solipsism or hostility toward the audience. The entirety of Transcend and Subsume clocks in at just over thirty minutes, and nearly half of it consists of band members interviewing each other about what it means to be in the band. See the problem?

It's a shame, too, as there's some good material here. "Eight Bit Symphonette" sounds like it was assembled from old game cartridges, and while it's a bit precious (one of the themes it incorporates is "Fur Elise"), it's certainly intriguing enough in its own right. "Guitarist With a Lawyering Problem", parts I and II, are guitar and minimal effects workouts that are fine, but not memorable. The final track is a rather dull instrumental overdubbed with a couple of guys pretending to be radio announcers at a really boring station. It's the kind of thing the Dead Milkmen would have done on their early records...but the Dead Milkmen wouldn't have let it go on for six and-a-half minutes.

I applaud the experimental nature of this band, and hope that more material like "Recycled Suicide Note" will be forthcoming from them. On the other hand, aside from providing notes on the band's history for record reviewers and the comparatively tiny number of people who are interested in such detail, "What FWM Has To Say" is probably better left unsaid.