A great release, not for the faint hearted for sure, but plenty to enjoy if you love your free rock.
A great release, not for the faint hearted for sure, but plenty to enjoy if you love your free rock.
Ba Da Bing Records
New Zealand’s Dead C are the kind of band you’re going to love regardless, or wonder what it is in the human condition that drives people to make such weird, ugly and ill formed noises. But stuff that, Dead C have teamed up with Rangda, (who boast the mighty Sir Richard Bishop in their ranks and who I thought weren’t active anymore, more fool me), to make this excellent split release. I say excellent because this LP really has a staying power, a core vitality about it which is vibrant and glowing. It’s effervescent stuff.
It’s also a nicely balanced work – the two tracks from Rangda allowing an easy enough entry point for the listener- the opener Gracilaria especially – heavily laden, nay dripping with the sort of raga-style runs and meditative patterns that are difficult to shake off. Gracilaria and the shorter, more meditative, Sancticallist both serve the purpose of ensnaring the listener; light, breezy excursions that are multifaceted enough to keep attention and setting things up for that fuzzy, growling Dead C attack. When Dead C do show up it’s with EUSA Kills, a long lost track apparently, and one that just refuses to do anything much apart from roll over and look for that pizza slice that was under the pillow last night, just for safe keeping I hope you understand…
Elsewhere, This Much We Know is a brilliant piece wherein a sort of high register wheezing noise looks to escape the fuzzy slop that surrounds it. And Heaven’s Wheel buzzes frantically about for about 6 minutes, seemingly locked in some sort of shipping container, and sounding like a particularly grubby, low register take on Guru Guru’s UFO.
A great release, not for the faint hearted for sure, but plenty to enjoy if you love your free rock.