The Dead C - New Electric Music
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The Dead C have long presented a different view of musical performance, recording, and presentation than most of their peers. Lo-fi "rock" numbers and lengthy drone excursions don't sound too far removed from much of what several independent rockers produce, but The Dead C have done everything under their name with a spirit and aesthetic entirely their own. Even a casual listener's first exposure to albums like Trapdoor Fucking Exit or The White House would be hard pressed to say that the band is not presenting a series of new explorations on old themes. The band's once-prolific output has slowed a bit in the last few years, and their latest, New Electric Music, has only recently made its way to U.S. shores. This album is confrontational, like basically all of the band's additional output, and it continues to explore the trio's recent focus on sound experiments.
"Killer" starts the album into action, although a definitely slow motion. The track is awash in a haze of oddly resonant guitar tones that take a slight Doppler shift about every 10 seconds. Each tone comes on strong, only to echo itself a few times in various forms, all before the process repeats itself again. Over the track's six-minute length this formula remains largely the same. Occasionally a small vinyl-like pop occurs to change the overall structure of the track, but consistency is the order here and it is a beautifully executed operation of minimalism and tone. Simple, yet one of the album's most effective cuts.
Marked in some circles as the band returning to "songs," don't be misled into thinking that this album is going to contain new classics along the lines of "Sky," "Helen Said This," or "Mighty." "Flush," the album's second track, does present the first Dead C song with vocals in several years but that is as close as you're going to get. While vocals are present, they are buried rather deeply in the mix in much of the same way that the human voice was used on some of the band's earlier records. Verse chorus verse it most certainly is not. Musically, the number features the trio churning straight ahead and remaining closely attached to the percussive heart of the song. "Flush" remains strong and a bit of a departure from the band's most recent double disc instrumental effort.
"Repulsion" opens off with a healthy bit of radio static and radio portions that are being tuned in and out of clarity. These sounds are layered between bits and portions are placed under and over a distorted, mutilated guitar line that fades in and out. Free-form drum and cymbal work joins the mix in due time, leaving the radio work further buried in the mix. The disorienting effect is wonderful and spacious. While radio manipulation seems to have fallen largely to the hands of the Sun City Girls lately, The Dead C have managed to find new and different ways to approach the sounds. The track is patently ominous; it starts and definitely ends in the same manner.
Next comes the eight-minute excursion "Stand." Vocals are present here, but not more clear or discernable than those from "Flush." This track bears a closer resemblance to prior work by The Dead C. There is a definite and distinct "song" structure, although it is quite content to move in and out of focus. Three minutes in the song picks up a considerable bit of momentum and conventionally rocks from that point until shortly before the number's conclusion.
"Forever," the album's final and longest track at a hair under 31 minutes, is clearly the centerpiece of New Electric Music. While the actual recording might be deceptive, the track appears to have been recorded live. A strange and highly electric pummeling sound of unknown origin is the first real sound to emerge and it continues along every 10 seconds. This tone is joined by a pair of additional oscillating noises, one almost pulsating and the other sounding like a variable-speed helicopter blade. These sounds slowly merge into one, with the original pummel still in place and one of the other noises yielding for a tad of slow e-bow guitar work. Klaxons, pure feedback, heavy cymbal work, and a host of other more intense noises come into the fray and help create a true barrage of pure, yet structured, sound. The initial pummel eventually gives way to the other noises, but long after the listener has found himself totally immersed. Such an aptly named tune.
If you're not already a Dead C convert, it's probably unlikely that this album would bring you into the fold whole-heartedly. It is a quality and sustained affair of intense and challenging sounds, but perhaps not the band's best starting point. It is a solid effort, one made more enticing by the fact that the band is already working on another release to be unveiled later this year. Mmmmmm.
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