- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
This is the final installment of the Hushush 'Threesome Series' involving Ambre (members of Snog and Imminent Starvation among others), Mark Spybey (Dead Voices on Air) and Mick Harris (Scorn). "Dys" pairs Ambre and Harris with Harris in the driver's seat weaving together the samples from Ambre into 5 tracks over 48 minutes. The sound is similar to the textured, ambient headphone mindfuck of Harris' Lull project and the more sinister surrealist moments of Nurse With Wound.
The moans and groans of minimal drone are peppered with stereophonic sound events and effects, often in sudden outbursts. It's all very atmospheric, if not dark and cinematic, devoid of discernible voices, beats or easily identifiable samples and often seemingly without structure. A few of the more uniquely interesting bits are in "Ome" with its brief sub bass loops and electronic leaf rustling and in the dense beginning of "Algie" with what resembles roller skates on a rain slicked sidewalk. Unfortunately, I find "Dys" emotionally ineffectual. Plenty of interesting sounds and changes, but it more or less goes in one ear and out the other. It's just not staying with me like so many other similar works have. But despite going out with a bit of a whimper, the Threesome series was overall a varied success. I just prefer Ambre/Spybey "Sfumato" and Spybey/Harris "Bad Roads, Young Drivers" over this one.
 
 
samples:
 
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
samples:
- 13th Hour - Malice Aforethought
- Drozophyll - Deep Within the Drains
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
samples:
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
I immediately had to hear more from this band, so I purchased theirfirst CD release, actually a compilation of their first singles called"Old Material, New Format" on My Pal God. I slipped it into my CDplayer, and waited for that melodic glory to come out of my speakers.Sure, it was there -- for the first few seconds of the first track,"One Hundred Percent Tree." Then: vocals. Not very good ones, either.Drowned in the mix, and more spoken than sung, the vocals by Jay Ryanseemed awkward when paired with the music. Or they would, if the musicwas on the same level of "Dreams Of Being King." This was dianogah attheir early stages, and it showed. After repeated listens, though, nowthe songs have a certain charm to them. It's like enjoying Mogwai nowfor what they are and do, then listening to the awkward loud/softmissteps of "Ten Rapid." It's got its moments. Next in order of releaseis the proper album "As Seen From Above." This was certainly closer towhat I expected to hear. Driving, intertwining basslines, stable andfirm drumming, and little variations that build and strive to astunning climax. Yet another band that appreciates that the silence andbreaks in the song are just as important as the moments where allcylinders are firing. "What Is Your Landmass?" thumps right along,before settling into the cymbal-crashing tirade of a finale. Stillthere were vocals, but they seemed to have improved over the firstrelease (go figure). Jay becomes more confident with his voice,reaching a delivery half They Might Be Giants/half The Inbreds.
Then there is their second full-length, released after the "Reach TheRock" soundtrack, "Battle Champions." My god. The dream is fullyrealized on this release. dianogah occasionally record with othermusicians, releasing the results as "Team Dianogah" releases. Thistime, they add to their own sound, augmenting it with guitar and piano.From the second track, "At The Mercy Of The Mustang," I was hooked.Steve Albini just lets the boys rock out, and doesn't affect therelease at all, leaving us with the driving rhythms and gorgeousmelodies that make "Dreams Of Being King" pale as Willem Dafoe in"Shadow Of The Vampire." The album's centerpiece, "Indie Rock SpockEars," is playful and poignant, starting off slower than most dianogah,but building on right into an accomplished groove and great interplaybetween the bassists. Lovely. There are still vocals on a few songs,but they're no longer as jarring, and actually complement the musicwell. I would recommend "Battle Champions" to anyone who likes greatinstrumental indie rock. If you like that, move your way back. Alsolook for a new album next year. There's a lot to be discovered underthe surface...
samples:
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
Being fond of this CD, I decided to give their first, "Medeiros," arun. Missing is the Fridmann influence, but the songs are still there,along with a healthy dose of nerves. Scott Levesque's vocals are moreechoey and subdued, bringing to mind the feeling that he's still notcomfortable with that role in the band. Songs like "Summer" and "GirlSinger" impress with their picturesque lyrics and directness (samplelyric from "Girl Singer": "I believe I'm touching you, 'specially whenI'm fuckin' you, but you're a little on the tenative side"). Somekeyboard appear now and then, but the album works best without them, asopposed to "Hope & Adams." Both good releases, and well worthtrying out. Look for their latest, "Per Second Per Second Per SecondEvery Second," also with the Fridmann influence, this fall.
samples:
Read More
samples:
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
samples:
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
samples:
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
samples:
- Nuno
- Life/Death (with Mikah 9)
- Last Light (with Sam Prekop)
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
'Asylum' (their first deliberate Tarot card reference) firstmaterialized in 1985 and was considered by the group to be a troubledtime. The group's lineup had been fairly steady since the early daysbut their home base had recently moved from the UK to Holland. Songswith titles "Prisoner", "The Last Straw" and "This Could Be the End"symbolify the sentiments of a writer feeling trapped and a group on theverge of calling it quits. Steven Stapleton of Nurse With Wound wasbrought in to perform various production and editing duties. Popularfavorites include the violin-heavy "Fifteen Flies in the Marmalade,"the epic multi-part madness of "So Gallantly Screaming" and the classicsignature LPD sound of "Golden Dawn."
samples:
'The Golden Age' was originally released in 1989 and was the first longplayer to feature guitarrorist Bob Pistoor. While many LPD fans don'tconsider this one of their fave releases, it did give clubs the popularhits "The More it Changes" and "Blacklist" (included as a bonus trackfrom the 12" of the same name). The album features a couple of theirrecurring themes with the gorgeous "Hotel Noir" and swirlingneo-classical signature LPD style of "Lisa's Separation". The album wasproduced with Hans Myre and primarily featured a stripped-down lineupof the core three members at the time: Edward, Phil (the Silverman) andPatrick Wright on violins. Thus the sound was completed more byelectronics than conventional rock instruments. Rarely throughout the90s until now has the group performed any of these songs in concert.
samples:
Therecordings for Crushed Velvet Apocalypse began in 1989 with the albumsurfacing in 1990. Between 'The Golden Age' and this disc, theLegendary Pink Box surfaced too, a 3xLP set with 2 LPs worth of newmaterial. The Dots were on fire! Bob Pistoor, now a full-time memberopens the album with the familiar guitar work of timeless LPD classic"I Love You in Your Tragic Beauty." On other tracks Pistoor gracefullyadds sitar and wonderful bass lines. Saxophonist, clarinet and fluteplayer Neils Van Hoorn is also now part of the full time lineup but theviolin virtuoso of Patrick Wright has departed from the group. Thisdidn't inhibit the Dots from turning out what many point to as theirfavorite full-lengther. 'Crushed Velvet Apocalypse' showed a maturedsense of writing ability, coordinated musicianship, and a stellarproduction which can conjure emotions of love, awe and horror withinseconds of each other. Songs like "Green Gang," "Hellsville," "Just aLifetime," "The Death of Jack the Ripper" and "Princess Coldheart" areoften played live to very warm receptions. The back of the CD featuresa newly surfaced image, a stunning tribute to Pistoor (by means of abeautiful live picture), who died the following year after a shortbattle with cancer.
samples:
Recorded in 1990 and released in 1991, the lineup remained constantfrom the year before and the group's bonds had grown stronger throughvarious tours all over the world. Initially released as a single LP,double-CD (70+ minutes and a limited edition w/a bonus 3" CD single),this album went on to become their most successful release ever.Popular favorites include the tear-jerking surrealistic dark ballads"Third Secret" and "Belladonna", the pretty yet spooky "Charaderama" orsax and sequencer filled "A Space Between," which has given way to manyemail signature files with the popular EKS lyric, "we all have names."The apocalyptic nightmare of "The Grain Kings" has become a frequentlyused last song or encore number on recent tours and even "Disturbance"rears its head occasionally. The Maria Dimension was the first albumreleased on the newly forged partnership between PIAS and Caroline.Guilty only by association, the releases that were co-issued byWaxTrax! may have gained the LPDs some cred with the gothpost-industrialists but with the new deal on Caroline the space rockersand indie rockers now had better exposure to the crew. One of themagical things about the Dots is going to a concert and seeing allsorts of fans present. This period the Dots seemed to be flying high,1991 saw the US-release of the Pink Box and the recordings of 'FourDays' took place. The passing of Pistoor later in the year shook theband's foundations, the band soon recruited Martjin de Kleer and thelegendary Ryan Moore as they entered a new phase and called up oldfriends (Steven Stapleton and Patrick Wright) for the subsequent ShadowWeavers.
samples:
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
samples:
Read More