An odd amalgam of post-rock experimentation, jazz influences, and a touch of 1970s pop, this is an ambitious disc that definitely stands out amongst the crowd with its idiosyncratic pedigree. And besides, who can’t appreciate an album of nervy post-rock that references Big Trouble in Little China and the Wu-Tang Clan in the liner notes?
There is a definite sense of the dramatic throughout the entire album, not only in the arrangements (including horns and strings), but in the somewhat operatic vocals of Sam Mickens that aren’t quite over the top, but close enough to the edge that it could be problematic if the lyrics weren’t so damn abstract to balance it out. The good-natured presentation of the disc is what prevents it from straying into the overly pretentious, but instead maintains a healthy absurdist sense of humor.
Both “Make Mine Marvel” and “Monster Island Czars” conjure images of spy movie tension with the thick mixes, taut rhythms and strings right out of a 1970s disco ballad. That mix of tension and lush pretense is what gives the album its overall unique feel and vibe. On tracks like “The Dancing Destroyer” the nervous energy and tense pace is almost too much, creating an aura of discomfort just from listening, like the expectation that something bad is going to happen at any time.
Others have a slightly more inviting ambience, the jazz influenced rock sound of “Death Duel Productions” still has that flair for the dramatic, but in a less tense, more inviting way. “Lamentable” and “Holliston” both lean towards more sparse production, the former based around acoustic guitar and a subtle, tasteful string section, while the latter focuses on piano and vocals, pulling it more into the world of classic R&B than anything else. Only on “Sword Cane” does the sound seem to squarely fit into traditional “rock” sounds, and even then it makes for a twitchy, nervy experience.
The Dead Science clearly have their own distinct sound that, oddly enough, isn’t out of place with their label-mates on Constellation. Post-rock might be the best way to describe their odd, abstract take on the traditional, but by augmenting it with a bit of jazz here and there, and the lush, almost cheesy 1970s pop instrumentation, an entirely different sound and sense is created. Mix in the bent towards the absurd and there’s a distinctly strange, but engaging combination there.
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