Press releases are very often filled with a plethora
of superlatives and not always so clever comparisons,
aimed at creating a buzz, sometimes over nothing. The
one accompanying this third Black Dice album begins
by comfortably placing the band between Can, Throbbing
Gristle, My Bloody Valentine and early Pink Floyd. This
alone would make even the most inexperienced reviewer
very suspicious. One listen to the album though, and
the tag seems almost too tamed. One could probably add
a whole bunch of names to the list, but why bother.
Indeed, the band has gained praise by no less than experimental
noise pioneers Sonic Youth, Godspeed You Black Emperor!
and Kid606 amongst others, with total endorsement from
the New York Times, The Wire, I-D and about everything
in between.
The band formed in 1997 at the Rhode Island School of
Design and soon caused havoc on the Brooklyn scene with
incendiary live performances resembling more the chaotic
warm up sessions of a dilettante hardcore formation
than the constructed work of an art rock band. After
releasing a series of 7”, the band finally released
their first self-titled in 2000. Collecting fifteen
untitled tracks rarely going over the thirty seconds
mark, this record established Black Dice as one of the
most uncompromising experimental acts around. Cold
Hands, the mini album that followed a year later
saw the band progressively moving away from the sheer
violence of the early days to develop a more sophisticated
sound.
Beaches & Canyons still bares traces of
the sonic eruptions heard on Black Dice’s previous
recordings. Here however, the quartet, currently formed
of Eric Copeland (vocals, electronic percussions), Bjorn
Copeland (treated guitar), Aaron Warren (vocals, electronics)
and Hisham Bharoocha (drums, vocals) develop further
the experimental side of their music, increasingly blurring
the divide between hardcore, post rock and electronica
by taking the hard-hitting formula they once championed
apart and relentlessly working at almost microscopic
level on the core sonorities and rough edges, treating
vocals and guitars with electronic devices to underline
the organic structure of their music. Proper melodies
are few and far between, but this doesn’t affect
the least the impact of their compositions. On the contrary,
this strenuous sound processing brings out the more
lively elements of the tracks, revealing voices and
tiny twitches through echoes and glitches, as each song
sees the band assembling the multiple components into
hypnotic constructions. Only occasionally relying on
the tribal drumming of Bharoocha, the quartet create
with this album enigmanic, dense and fascinating, soundscapes.
If the live environment remains the primary terrain
of expression for Black Dice, Beaches & Canyons
is a remarkable effort in its own right, and demonstrate
how experimental music can be both challenging and entertaining.
In the light of the five tracks on offer here, assimilating
Black Dice with the aforementioned collection of luminaries
seems only too well deserved.
4.3/5
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