Music Information

Review: The Dissociatives - Self Titled


In 1994 Daniel Johns and his group Silverchair were catapulted into the mainstream by winning a demo competition in Australia. Their single 'Tomorrow' is still widely regarded as one of the defining songs of the early 90s. Now, before you rush out to buy The Dissociatives you're going to want to sit down before I break this next part to you; This cd is not silverchair, it sounds nothing like silverchair, and you are only seeing comparisons because Daniel Johns is in both of these bands. It is best to keep these 2 entities separate, or you will probably end up enjoying them both a lot less.

This album is a collaboration with Australian techno king Paul Mac, the eclectic mix of poppy songwriting, eerie soundscapes, 3/4 timing and multi-layered vocals brings out the best of both members of the band. The music and songwriting is filled nearly to a breaking point with more little noises and beeps than you'd think you could digest, but somehow everything falls into its right place.

Opening with a constant 4/4 bass drum beat, the opening track 'We're much preferred customers' quickly builds constantly with multi-layered vocals, sparse piano, eventually turning into a veritable electronic orchestra. From this moment on, you can tell that this is a very experimental album, created by 2 very creative musicians. While the songwriting and melodies would fit perfectly on every pop radio station, avid listeners will notice much more subtle details and nuances than the average electronic pop album.

The standout track on the album in my mind is 'Horror with eyeballs' a bizarre tune based around a 3/4 verse of carnival music, mixed with a poppy chorus featuring many layers of Daniel Johns singing 'all of this time on my hands/so far has gone/ to feeding my animals'. Nonsense? I think so, but you'll be singing it for days.While the rest of the album is very hard to categorize, each song features the same elements; Multi-layered vocals and instruments, noises, a full helping of 'na-na-na-na' and everything you'd expect from a pop album. I find myself rarely listening to single songs, as the album seems to flow much better as a whole.

Nearing the end of the album, the band pulls out 'Young man, Old man', another interesting track. Based around a guitar part, only instead of playing it only on guitar, Johns elects to sing the part as well. This is the type of abstract thinking that makes this album stand out so much in my eyes. You will have a very tough time guessing what is going to come next, and I think everyone loves music that suprises them.

The band managed to find a fantastic artist by the name of James Hackett to produce 3 videos from this album; Horror with eyeballs, Somewhere down the barrel and Young man, Old man (You ain't better than the rest) all 3 are available for your viewing pleasure from the bands website.

It seems that most of the mainstream press is tearing this album apart, but from where I stand (about 2 feet infront of my computer monitor) this is one of the best albums released thus-far this year. If you're looking for a solid, happy album featuring one of the best voices in rock, check this out, you won't be disappointed.

Overall: 8.2

Chris Elkjar is the founder of 'trust.me' an online music magazine for the enthusiast. He spends all of his spare time immersed in music, be it writing reviews, interviews with leading bands or writing his own music.

For more of his writing, check out Trust-Me.ca - Music for robots


MORE RESOURCES:

MLive.com

Eclectic music revs up Rothbury's second day
Detroit Free Press, United States - 3 hours ago
BY BRIAN McCOLLUM • FREE PRESS POP MUSIC CRITIC • July 5, 2008 A whole bunch of grooves, to be exact, as the festival kicked into full-bore music mode ...
Rothbury: Saturday music preview MLive.com
Rothbury Music Festival begins Thursday WWMT
Lively second day at the Rothbury Music Festival Detroit Free Press
MLive.com - Detroit Free Press
all 24 news articles


Classical Music: The Litton Formula
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN - 7 hours ago
By GRAYDON ROYCE, Star Tribune What: Festival of music with the Minnesota Orchestra and guests. Artistic director Andrew Litton. ...
Just dive in: Some Sommerfest tips Minneapolis Star Tribune
all 3 news articles


Music: Guitar hero
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN - 5 hours ago
"For me, that was the music that first moved me and got me playing," Trucks said. "But I didn't [personally] know those guys. They were mythical characters ...


Music Hall in Detroit works to shore up finances
Chicago Tribune, United States - 21 hours ago
AP DETROIT - The Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts in Detroit is working to solidify its financial standing. The Detroit Free Press reports Friday ...
Slow months bring cutbacks at Music Hall Detroit Free Press
Events in Westchester New York Times
Events in New Jersey New York Times
all 8 news articles


Gigwise

Fratellis honoured at music awards
The Press Association - 21 hours ago
The Fratellis have been honoured at a music awards ceremony, along with Nicola Benedetti and Oasis. The 33rd O2 Silver Clef Lunch took place at London's ...
Oasis win top music prize The Sun
Oasis' Clef honour stv.tv
Oasis land lifetime achievement awards at star-studded bash Mirror.co.uk
BBC News - Newsroom America
all 145 news articles


MLive.com

Rothbury: Friday music update in brief
MLive.com, MI - 11 hours ago
We're near the halfway point in the first big day of music. I've caught at least part of most of Friday's acts so far, and here are my first impressions: ...
Ticket hopefully only downer as Rothbury campers prep for big ... MLive.com
all 4 news articles


Music Review | Jon Hendricks’ L, H & R Redux
New York Times, United States - 5 hours ago
By STEPHEN HOLDEN At 86 the visionary musical sage Jon Hendricks, who along with Ella Fitzgerald and Eddie Jefferson originated the jazz style called ...


Ángel Tavira Maldonado, 83; violinist, actor, promoted son ...
Los Angeles Times, CA - 1 hour ago
A violinist and composer of son calentano, a spry, soulful style of music native to the Tierra Caliente ("Hot Lands") region that straddles the Mexican ...


DM music festival has harmonious day
DesMoinesRegister.com, IA - 1 hour ago
jperez3@dmreg.com • July 5, 2008 The first day of Des Moines' two-day music festival went on without any major issues Friday. Optimism abounded in and ...
80/35 festival contributes to growing Iowa music scene UI The Daily Iowan (subscription)
Festival organizer aims high for bands DesMoinesRegister.com
'Lollapalooza started just as 80/35 did' UI The Daily Iowan (subscription)
all 7 news articles


Lee (Scratch) Perry is still happy to be making music
The Gazette (Montreal), Canada - 2 hours ago
That eccentricity drove him to create some of the most adventurous music in the history of Jamaican music, through the late '60s and '70s. ...

Music - Google News

home | site map
© 2006