Arcturus - Arcturian Review

Arcturus - Arcturian [Avant-Garde Metal/ Progressive Rock]

Amazing artwork

This is the first full album I've heard from this guys. Arcturus has been in my consciousness for a long time due to its stellar roster of members (namely I.C.S Vortex and Hellhammer in this current line-up). I remember trying to listen to one of their albums when Garm was still on vocals and remember being turned off by how odd they sounded. So I walked into this album expecting an equally weird album and am pleasantly surprised by how much I love it, hell, it might even go on to become one of my favourite releases of the year.

My files were downscaled to 16/44.1 from a set of 24/96 flac files, so for some reason my copies of the songs are a hell lot more dynamic than the CD master going around. The latter averages at DR7 while mine registers at around DR11 per song. Could be an error on my part (and would warmly welcome anyone to correct me in our cbox if my procedure was wrong) but in any case, the mastering and mixing of the album is fantastic. I still do not enjoy Hellhammer's hollow, triggered drums, but his drumming is very well portrayed by the mix because his speed is not compromised. There is some reverb in the drumming so you hear the force of his drumming. The orchestral elements are very well mixed too, sharp and atmospheric but never overtaking the guitars and bass. The band combines elements of symphony, electronics, long heartfelt guitar solos and extremely fast drumming without half assing any of the components; no laughing matter at all.

In terms of songwriting, the album is all over the place. There are some very by-the-numbers rock songs. Not exactly straight forward, but immediately accessible nonetheless (stuff like 'Crashland'). For me however, the album excels immensely when it rides out to strange song structures and instruments. Opener 'The Arcturian Sign' is one such example, with the insane double pedal that accentuates the tense moments of an otherwise operatic song. Another example is the Eastern influences on the heartfelt 'The Journey', or the Krautrock inspired keyboards on 'Warp'. Strange and left field, but well integrated without being too jarring. The songs are inconsistent tho, and I didn't like a few tracks, but then again, judging by most reviews online, the songs I preferred aren't well-liked by the majority either. Yes, it's a weird album, and this is where its strength also becomes its weakness.

In terms of vocals, I.C.S Vortex is still going to be a hard act for many to swallow. He has his strengths, but he sounds very limitted and forced in many of the songs. As I have said before, I am not a fan of perfect, polished vocals, so this doesn't bother me one bit. He conveys emotions, be it deranged, unhinged or even in the meditative 'The Jouney' (my favourite takeaway from this album if you haven't realised). The other instruments are really good, hard to judge on a technical level because that isn't the point of this band.




I am leaning in very favourably on this album, and this surprises me too.


Rating: ★★★★☆ 4/5

Death Grips - The Powers That B Review

Death Grips - The Powers That B [Hip Hop / Experimental]

Never thought I would kick off the reviews this year in April, but the team has been swamped with school work on other projects. Thought I would like to jot down some thoughts on the "final" Death Grips album:

niggas on the moon

The first half of the double album technically "leaked" last year, but I will review it here because (i)it's part of a double album and (ii) it has only been physically released this month. The album uses samples of Björk for background, with barely any actual drums from drum lord Zach Hill. The album isn't as aggressive as Death Grips' earlier work, and barely shows any semblance to the second half of The Powers That B. The eight songs flow together as one large song with barely any segue moments between the tracks. As far as the songs go, some manage to stick in your mind, eg. Up My Sleeves and Black Quarterback, but for the most part, the album plays more like background music. It isn't actually chill background music either because MC Ride's vocals are anything but chill. Björk's vocals are employed as trippy atmospherics, so the album has a bit of a trance like feel, wildly punctuated by manic shouts. Overall, not one the Grips' strongest albums, perhaps even their worst.

★★☆☆☆

Jenny Death

The much better half of the album, almost every song on the album is gold. The soundscape has changed quite a bit with distorted guitars, live drums and more manic vocals (almost like punk rock). The lyrics are also absolutely quotable ("I like my iPod more than fucking!!"). Jenny Death is surprisingly not only accessible in terms of sound, it is also probably the first time I have been able to emotionally connect with the band. The album's final actual song is 'On GP', quite possibly my favourite Death Grips song of all time. It has elements of shoegaze and sticks out sorely from the rest of the album, almost coming off like a ballad. It's a grand swansong for the band, with its foreboding lyrics "It's been a pleasure, Stefan (the vocalist's real name)" or "All these nights I don't die for you". Zach Hill is also on fire on this album when he finally lets loose with his neo-jazz-metal assault on the drums. Seriously, check out his solo work, his drumming is on par with the best in the world.

The album ends on a rather bizarre note, with 'Death Grips 2.0'. Is their break up just a PR stunt? Are they hinting of another return? Or is their way of saying goodbye? It's a mostly instrumental, futuristic sounding piece that does break new ground for the artistes' direction, but only time will tell if we will ever get more from this talented duo.

★★★★★

Reviews: Scott Walker + Sunn O))) - Soused & Sunn O))) + Ulver - Terrestrials

Scott Walker + Sunn O))) - Soused [Doom / Drone / Experimental]
Sunn O))) + Ulver - Terrestrials [Doom / Drone / Experimental]


This is a curious affair here. Three legendary artistes, two of whom left their metal backgrounds while the latter completely dethroned his own baroque pop beginnings for some truly twisted music in the past decade. In that sense, there seems to be some common ground between all of these guys, but the collaborations leave a lot to be desired.

The point of a collaboration is for either artiste to fuse their best efforts with the other, to offset their different styles to see if there is some harmony.

Terrestrials was released earlier, so I will review this first.

1. Let There Be Light - An 11 minute long opener may not be strange considering the bands' catalogues. It's mostly an atmospheric track that builds a steady momentum from virtually nothing. Sunn O))) isn't very dominant here, providing a few bassy notes here and there. Ulver's typically weird instrumentation with trumpets and keyboards is here. There is progression at the end... but nothing else?
2. Western Horn - The baton is passed to Sunn O))) here. A lot darker than the first track from the get go, I am not sure about the collaboration at this point because the roles of the bands are basically just reversed here, with Ulver doing the background this time. It's not too shabby a song, in fact, I did enjoy this one.
3. Eternal Return - A closer which finally brings the two bands together. A strangely emotional and heartfelt piece with violins, deep droning guitars. Kristoffer Rygg from Ulver provides his vocals for the second half of the song, and they are quite haunting.

Overall, one boring song, one okay song and one saving grace for the end. It could be mistaken for an EP with just three songs, but length seems to be an issue. I know both bands usually release songs at this length, but time isn't utilized as effectively in this collaboration. At DR10, there isn't much to complain about the production. That's an expected value given the bands' minimalist approach to music anyway. It's not that bad an album, but save for the last song, doesn't really accomplish anything.

Now on to the collaboration with Scott Walker:

1. Brando - Song opens on a completely strange note, perhaps a throwback to Walker's younger days. Sunn O))) comes in within a few seconds, but the production here is a lot less accommodating. Producer Peter Walsh has dedicated most of the soundstage to Walker, and the guitars sound completely underwhelming. It's not a bad song, but it goes on for far too long.
2. Herod 2014 - Actually an annoying song. What instrument is that at the chorus- is that even a chorus? Even more annoying is that this is the longest song on the album. The collaboration sounds off here, neither Scott Walker nor Sunn O))) seem to fit each other's style.
3. Bull - The song that was used for the teaser. Not a bad song, actually. It has an accessible chorus, which seems uncharacteristic for Sunn O))) anyway.  This song actually carries the menace that both artistes have embodied in their most recent work. The second half is pure Sunn O))), but with Walker's production. Not cool.
4. Fetish - Continuing with more menace, the only song with actual variation in this album. Drums come at the last part and Walker tries to be melodic here. However, as with the third song, the 'collaboration' seems to be just alternating between the two artistes rather than marrying them.
5. Lullaby - one hell of a repetitive closer. If there's one thing this record achieves though, it's tension. Both the artistes are maniacal in delivery, and this particular song is particularly creepy. Walker uses his higher register for the chorus, and his wailing is frightening. Again, length is a serious issue here.

Too long, too little variations and poor production on Walker's part. Again, not bad, but very underwhelming.

I would recommend you to listen to the artiste's better works though. I only listened to these albums because I hold the individual artistes in high regard.

Terrestrials - ★★★☆☆

Soused - ★★☆☆☆

The Meads Of Asphodel - Sonderkommando Review

The Meads Of Asphodel - Sonderkommando [Experimental Black Metal]

The Meads' previous album, 'The Murder Of Jesus The Jew' is a five star masterpiece in my books. Their willingness to experiment is the core foundation of their eclectic sound; quirky, frenzied, but for some weird reason, hypermelodic. That is why I would award it five stars; their various styles not only work seamlessly well, the execution is mature, their groundwork is solid but mostly, their music is memorable, not pretentious. Despite the blastbeats, the scorching riffs and the polarizing vocals, which actually showcase the lyrics, the band has always sounded FUN, not heavy, not groovy, not technical. And that alone is mastery of song writing.

How do they pull it off here? Sonderkommando is the name given to the Jew unit who had to cremate their own dead after the Nazis butchered them. They made a living selling off the deceased's jewellery but lived a tortured life as double agents and usually fled to safer countries lest they were likewise killed. The album is performed from their point of view and tackles the subject of Auschwitz pretty well. Band leader Metatron apparently went there himself and recorded the narrations there.

The album begins with the title track, opening first with a speech from Hitler, which gives way to a Pink Floyd moment of tranquil vocals and some pretty nice keyboards that instantly create a theatrical mood, which preps the listener for a rather long listen (the album is tediously detailed), and then the metal starts with the line "This is fucking death", and things get pretty impressive from here. The main melody of the song is used sparingly between angular riffs, that make it sound more melodic and also makes its appearance more welcomed and more precise. That is not to to say the song is replete with melody, but there is not a single dull moment and the constant switch between melodic and heavy makes the execution sound more natural rather than separate the song into two distinct segues, and that makes for a consistent song throughout, and I found this rather refreshing because too many bands today divide their songs into two distinct parts instead of weaving the cleans and screams so well into one another, as does the intended 'pulse' here demonstrate. This is some magic that made the band a cult following years ago, and rather than read, it should be experienced by the listener himself.

'Wishing Well Of Bones' is so melodic and groovy it put a smile on my face, a first from months of listening. It's repetitive, but the melody demands constant presence as opposed to the previous song, and the guitarists do a fantastic job of derivative riffs of the main melody (a very jazz technique). The chorus is hard to pull out from your memory and the song is thankfully short so that the melody doesn't overstay its welcome. 'Aktion T4' is a more black metal song, with a rather similar chord progression to 'Wishing Well...' but it works as a counter melody to the former and possibly explores the darker side to the cremation process. The screams here are quite unexpected and actually work well to give this moderately melodic song some morbid twist. 'Silent Ghosts Of Babi Yar' is a more serious song with minor ghost melodies and a more anthemic chorus (the guitars take on a psychedelic atmosphere). The real draw comes in the two part 'Children Of The Sunwheel Banner', the first of which contains another Hitler speech sample... over an electronic beat?! Weird, funky and perhaps sarcastic way to portray the dictator's speech, which makes the second part all the more dark and disturbing. Delayed guitar notes paint a rather bleak picture before the song bursts forth with much anger that was, up to this point, absent from the album. Expletives are clearly audible and the song rages at a steady midtempo, with a few fast solos thrown here and there. A lot of narrative here, and a rather beautiful Gregorian chant moment and some melodic riffing and a drum solo while the title is repeated sorrowfully, but more importantly, this gives way to the a fantastic keyboard solo that echoes the same funk beat on Part One. The transition is shockingly well integrated and maintains the mood of the song without diluting its sadness.

 The problem is that the album starts to get weak from this point. 'Lamenting Weaver Of Horror' is a theatrical segue that is almost cringeworthy and the acoustic tones toward the end hardly make up for the cheesiness of the dialogue between captor and child. 'Sins Of The Pharaohs' is the last burst of fire on this album, with the memorable chorus "Set... My people.. Free!". 'Hourglass Of Ash' hardly manages to make a convincing point with a saxophone badly integrated into a considerably angry song, not to mention the overuse of the chorus melody. I am not sure what to make of the lounge section in the bridge. It is musically strange, and yet it's hard to decide if it was a horrible choice or a brilliant one, rather, by this point the shock factor of the album is lost and the music alienates rather than captivate you. 'The Mussulmans Wander Through The Infernal Whirling Fires Amongst Silent Shadows to be Fed Into the Thirsting Jaws of a Godless Death Machine to Cough Up Their Souls to the Nazi Moloch Who Sits Within a Ring of Smoking Infant Skulls' (WHAT KINDA TITLE IS THAT) features the same command-response that has been in effect since 'Wishing Well Of Bones' and has a harmonica. Yeap you read that right, a harmonica and choir vocals. It is decent but the song keeps ricocheting  to so many different elements that they seem particularly badly drawn together, even if there are some memorable punk riffs in the middle of the song. The album ends off slightly stronger, with an acoustic closer 'Send My Love To Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz', although as with most of the songs at the second half, it reaches nowhere in particular.

In the end, I am at a dilemma for this album. It had the potential to be disgustingly bad but the first half of the album was, I daresay even enjoyable. However, the second half of the album is nowhere close to the former in terms of memorable songs, bar the lyrical content. The band has definitely worked hard into the background for the album, but how legit is a British trolling band in empathizing for Jews who were killed in Germany? This may be a cause for concern for some listeners, and upon this view the album is horribly complacent with the theatrics and segues, with the earlier mentioned cheesy dialogues. Also, the impact of the album's length is also another demerit when listening to the album. As such, I award the album:

★★★☆☆ 

Swans - The Seer Review

Swans - The Seer [Post-Punk / Experimental Rock]

IMMENSE. This is the best way to sum up the album: IMMENSE. Boasting a solid two hours, with so much going on at a microscopic and macroscopic level. The album was definitely a headache, digesting it was one thing, picking up things about it to analyze is even harder. But as a critic, an album this huge in scope is like a dream come true, for once, an album has taken over a month of critical listening and still presents itself as bold, disturbing, futuristic and epic at the same time.

The album starts off with 'Lunacy', a track that has such powerful dynamics as it gains momentum over its 4 minutes before collapsing to a melancholic closure with the words "Your childhood is over-" over and over again. It's precise, and creates a sense of doom, almost meditative (as the entire album is) without sounding repetitive, with Alan Sparhawk & Mimi Parker providing a nice harmony with band leader Michael Gira. It is a strong track, because not only is it great to listen to on its own, it sets the pace of the album and serves excellently well as an album opener, introducing everything you can expect from the album without wearing you out, the weirdness, the dynamic song variations within the same song, the minimalist lyrics and the unorthodox vocals, it is all there.



'Mother Of The World' is the second song and already throws at you another oddball, with its opening polyrhythmic drum and guitars creating some weird, tense time signatures while Michael Gira just... breathes to the rhythm? The weird pattern slowly accumulates atmospheric drones and added ghost notes as the bass comes in to complicate things more before weird atonal Red Indian vocals come in. Organ chimes add that haunting touch, light but never overpowering and doing just what it should. This song is haunting in a way I cannot explain, perhaps it's how everything seems to work in perfect harmony even in its apparent friction with the next instrument. The vocals are pushed to the front but are still processed, sounding near but distant, like you are divided by a veil that allows you to observe what is happening but never allowing you to become engulfed in the music, but overwhelmed just by looking in it. Michael Gira seems to take this point of view on his music, singing with self-awareness and pity but at the same time trying to seem like he doesn't care, and the combination of this with the beautiful dulcimer, sitar and distant flamenco guitars at the end creates a beautifully complex soundscape where each instrument contributes to the bigger picture.



'The Wolf' is a fantastic bridge between the preceding and succeeding song, minimalist in delivery but effectively bringing in field noise halfway to signal the closure of 'Mother Of The World' and the beginning of the albums first epic track, the 32 minute long title track, which opens with a burst of bagpipes and a wild clarinet solo and the dulcimer plucking away furiously. The transitions are so smooth you will not be able to tell if it's another song or still the same song, and here the use of drone and doom atmospheres make itself aurally discernible. The rhythms may seem repetitive to the impatient listener, but they are the key to the smooth transitions, seamlessly blending or fading into the next musical segue, which are aplenty in this title track alone. As always, the lyrics are minimal as Michael Gira simply chants "I see it all I see it all-" as the music picks up, before the instruments climax close to the mid end of the song, but strangely do not sound overwhelming, as they do cancelling each other's instruments out, which is novel songwriting right there. In a way, the songs sound like they are killing themselves and always leave the listener baffled at true intentions of the song.

Catharsis is definitely the main motif of the album, as evident in the band's love for psychedelia in their earlier records in the 80s, but here, it seems to become a powerful theme, and more effective. This album proves to be more than music, more like an experience. It is epic in scope, and it tires you out crazy, and the featured artistes such as Karen O and Jarboe are succinct and precise, never overstaying their welcome and acting as if they are definitely meant to be included in the music, unlike a lot of the stars you see today who collaborate merely for more attention from both party's fans.

The philosophical and abstract intentions of this album. Tension plays its part very well in the dramatic and uneven, forced notes and beats (look at the chilling '93 Ave. B Blues', it is sonic devastation, conjuring dark images that are delightfully vague and personal, it is the kind of sound I would envision making itself comfortable in a gory body-horror film). Karen O's soothing vocals are almost a sigh of relief, a beautiful, euphoric song in 'Song For A Warrior', almost as if to assuage the listener from the wounds inflicted from the dissonant cacophony of the first half of the album, and as said, flows well into the relatively upbeat 'Avatar' or the rest of the album actually. The final two epics, 'A Piece Of The Sky' and 'The Apostate' feature relatively... "happy" beats but are jut as complicated as the first half of songs, with bell chimes and gang vocals swarming in and out and polyrhythms never letting up even towards the end.

I must now revise the ratings I have given to previous albums, because for the first time in 2012, there is an album that definitely worthy of the perfect rating and fit to be deemed a classic. This album will no doubt be creating lots of polarizing views, and it's eliciting of influences from all the negative genres of music: psychedelia, doom metal, noise, experimental jazz and tribal, is sure to scare people if the sheer size and length doesn't, but for those who are open-minded and willing to crack this album, this is pure gold.

★★★★★ Excellent - Undisputed classic for critical listening
✔ Satthy's Recommended Choice

Animal Collective - Centipede Hz Review

Animal Collective - Centipede Hz [Experimental Pop]

I took a long time to upload this review because the sheer complexity of the record meant that any first listens you have on the album would be a complete injustice to this. Animal Collective has always been a polarizing band, but attention was undivided with the band's 2009 immense breakthrough album Merriweather Post Pavilion, with its innovative song writing and spectacular use of sound effects. To the untrained ear it is a complete mess, but the way sounds appear sparse and detached, before suddenly coming together to create glistening, soaring choruses before breaking apart again, it is visually musical too.



And it would only be sensible that Centipede Hz goes off from a different direction from their successful formula. The first difference is the dense production, with the sounds condensed into one heavy sound that at once hits you as claustrophobic and hurried. Yes, it is the same style employed in Merriweather Post Pavilion, but the rate at which the sound effects conglomerate is distracting this time round, while the original songs themselves lack any real structure or memorable hooks. Synth comes in with such unpredictability that even gorgeous tunes like 'Mercury Man' have this manic, uncertain feel to it, and, nuts to detractors, I found this a highly refreshing characteristic.

The emphasis on a sonic experience, rather than the song by song method employed by radio artistes to pick the best singles and squeeze the most cash out of it, dictates that the album be listened to as a whole and it is one of those albums where the whole is more than the sum of its individual parts. And with many unconscious  listens (ie. listening to it while playing games or studying or whatever it is people do for past time today), the melodies become more discernible.

However, I have  a problem with the lack of depth on this record. For so much an emphasis on 'experience', the album has few themes for you to take away. Also, does the sound effect exactly enhance the overall sound? The overuse of sound effects makes the album sound chaotic and wild at times, and though it works for energetic sounds like that on 'Today's Supernatural' and 'Applesauce', it does add the effect of juvenile pretense on songs like 'Monkey Riches', which I am hoping is some irony in reference to the title, it as if sometimes the sound effects are used to mask the weakness of the songwriting.

Another gripe I have is the exclusion of two songs that were released prior to the album but not included in the mix; 'Honeycomb' and 'Gotham', which had strong songwriting and dynamic rhythms. This is, again, negligible because it's the artiste's choice what they deem fit for their release, but the inclusion of the two songs could break the hidden monotony in the album. Good direction was key to Animal Collective's success, but while Merriweather Post Pavilion has coupled strong songwriting with this, Centipede Hz seems to what its title implies; many legs and small details but ultimately nothing to pull your face and create the full impact a song like 'My Girls' did three years ago.

★★★☆☆ Average - Half of album is listenable

Death Grips - No Love Deep Web Review

Death Grips - No Love Deep Web [Experimental Hip-Hop]

Very late review, but hey. Death Grips leaked the album on their own when their record label expressed doubt on whether they could release the album this year on their schedule, putting Death Grips on a league of their own. Willingly putting up their first and stunning album on Youtube earlier this year, 'The Money Store' was one of my personal favourite albums in the first half year. Blending alien soundscapes, angry as hell vocals from Stefan "MC Ride" Burnett and free-form hard drumming from experimental metal drummer Zach Hill, who has worked with the likes of Mick Barr of black metal band Krallice, certainly made for one of the most refreshing sounds on a genre plagued with cash cows and general idiocy by the mainstream radio. Not just pushing the boundaries of rap and hip-hop, but simply pointing the middle figure to the music industry and indirectly at society as well, The Money Store was an epic statement.





So how does the follow-up act up? While The Money Store was simply brazen in its attack, No Love proves to be one hell of a complex beast to configure. With dizzying schizophrenic vocals/lyrics, multiple musical influences that stretch as far as to industrial or death metal, No Love is riddled with suicidal and self-injuring tendencies. Production as heavy but spacey, something black metal bands should take note of. The atmosphere sounds as powerful as it is uncertain. Electronic flourishes by Flatlander and Hill come up as sharp and lively, there is something grim in the overall sound. This doesn't undermine the anger that Death Grips is famous for, opener 'Come Up And Get Me' is exactly what its title implies, and with minimal drums and electronics, there is a serious psychotic threat to Burnett's vocals, before he suddenly breaks down after the verse:


"I'm in an eight high abandoned building
no daylight one midnight lamp lit twenty-four seven
murdered out windows two exits
street or nosedive to the next life in seconds
and suicide aint my stallion
so I'm surrounded
geiger count it not goin out shits bout to get kamikaze"

Whilst Money Store thrived on explosive choruses and colourful soundscapes, the songs on No Love have little changes in tempo in terms of melody, no crescendos or rush of excitement, which may anger fans of the highly volatile debut, but there is some real depth to the songs here, emotionally. The icyness of the music keeps the listener constantly outside the themes, more like an onlooker instead of being part of the music, again another absolute innovation, and this creates some truly pitiful perspectives on Burnett. The scream on 'Lock Your Doors' come across as frightening instead of keeping up with the pacing of the rap, which is itself dubiously ambiguos: Light the candle, burn the wax/ Before me dies, in scorch uprise/ Can't deny it, no way back. What is the source of all this paranoia?

Nevertheless, while it may not strike a chord with fans who liked Money Store, with the absence of hooks or the heavy, inhuman, prison-like atmospheres, No Love is definitely the cold, lonely deserted twin of its predecessor. Full of minute details, with elements from as vast as jazz, club and death metal, this is truly one of the most unique releases of 2012. You may not like it. But this is definitely a classic that requires some serious listening.

★★★★☆ Good - Strong flow, immediately grabs you
___________________________________________________________

JE's take:

Before we delve into this section of the review, let me first say that hip-hop in all its myriad forms is one of my least favourite genres ever. However, 'No Love Deep Web' brings something different to the table especially in terms of sound production and vocal style.

The lyrical content on 'No Love Deep Web' is angsty and defiant and makes for a good solid listen; the album is rare for its genre in that you can actually finish the whole thing in one sitting (of course, the fact that there exists a compilation of the entire album on the tubes does help).

However, the music can get repetitive after a little while and that detracts from the enormous potential of this album. The tracks are good in and of themselves but their arrangement/alignment definitely needs working on. Still, it takes some serious quality in a hip-hop album for me to sit through it in one shot.Rating: ★★★★☆ Good - Strong flow, immediately grabs you

Featured Artist: Diablo Swing Orchestra

DSO, as they are commonly known, are one of the weirdest bands not just in all of metal, but in all of modern Western music. Fusing heavy, chugged metal guitar riffs, swing/big-band influenced instrumentation and style and, on some occasions, Broadway-inspired vocal arrangements, DSO manage to create a blend of music that defies genre categorisation yet polarises its listeners all the same.



I, for one, am a huge fan of DSO's general musical direction.

Take the above track, 'A Tap Dancer's Dilemma', for example. All the DSO hallmarks are there - the swing beats, the horns and brasses, the heavy guitar riffing and the bombastic vocal parts.

The thing about DSO is that they do not merely include these musical elements, they manage to extract as much musical value as possible out of each aspect of their music. Very little of what they put out is superfluous - save for the random acoustic guitar line or vocal trill - and balance between each musical concept and texture is pretty much achieved.

Back to the track at hand: the swing-style drum beat opens the piece and sets the overall mood, and is soon joined by distorted electric guitars, muted trumpets and other lower brasses like trombones. And at about a minute in, the singing starts, and the instrumentation gets more and more flagrantly 'swing' from there on. The gypsy guitar solo at 2:10 and the following guitar/bass riff might seem a touch extravagant to the casual listener - but it actually adds to the texture of the song, which, as the title would suggest, ostensibly centres around the mental challenges a tap dancer would face (hence the folk/gypsy reference) but actually has more to do with the general dichotomy between religiousness and secularity.

The musical contrasts (notably male vocal-female vocal and rock-swing) serve to emphasise the abovementioned dichotomy: the song, in pairing the 'dominant' male vocal with heavier, more aggressive musical lines and assigning these parts to the more 'assertive' lyrics ("In the final hour, you can cleanse your soul by whispering") and then contrasting all that with the 'submissive' female vocal styling and the more melodic lines, seems to be aimed at mocking forced religiosity by portraying it as overbearing (which the music, at times, can well be), loud and pompous (self-explanatory).

In this piece and others, DSO use their varied instrumentation to create music that is not just catchy and easy to listen to, but has much deeper meaning than at first imagined. The many instruments and voices they have at hand enable them to play with contrasts in volume, tone, texture and style, producing pieces of high musical and literary value.

Of course, I will concede that not every piece matches up to 'A Tap Dancer's Dilemma' in terms of structure and musicality (the given analysis is incomplete; there is much, much more to the song than I can type in one sitting), but as far as benchmarks go, this song is extremely well put together and represents some of DSO's finest work. DSO are always worth a listen, and while they might sound off-putting at first hearing, their music will surely grow on most listeners.

- JE

Other DSO recommendations
- Ballrog Boogie
- Honey Trap Aftermath