CD Review: Dead Guitars - Stranger

Written by Sebastian Huhn Wednesday, 07 September 2011 13:29

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Artist: Dead Guitars
Title: Stranger
Genre: Indie / Acoustiic
Release Date: 16th September 2011
Label: Silverbird Music

Album Review

Except a string of selected shows it has become awfully quiet around the DEAD GUITARS recently. The main reason was them being busy recording and producing the follow-up to 2008's 'Flags. Th new baby is called 'Stranger' and will be released this Friday. The opening Love Goddess & The Love Ghost' sees the band playing in confided musical territory on poppy song that embraces melancholy and manipulated guitars creating wide textures. Carlo van Putten leaves you dumbstruck here. Eventually he ended up sounding more like his stage persona, meaning his vocal delivery being stronger and more voluminous. 'Along The Great Divide' for a while treads psychedelic waters before a cold wind breezes between rhythm section and melodies giving to the song an eerie atmosphere that is supported by Carlo's at times sonorous voice.#Mesmerized' offers exhilarating melodies and upbeat rhythms. Actually it's quite a poppy song by DEAD GUITARS standards paying tribute to the indie rock and early THE CURE. 'From The Top Of The World (Rats)'is introduced by low strings followed by Carlo performing to bonfire guitar chords the drums always being far away while the guitars work on the opposite side of the spectrum covering his voice at times. It's all kinda grouped around him.

The album's title track is one large evocative soundscape that evolves and layers slowly. It sets just the right moods for a cloudy autumn day full of longing for things that can never be. Scattered bricks mark the last remnants of a forgotten cities while everything before has turned to dust and was blown away by the wind. But dust eventually fades while e melody or a song can be carried by the wind forever. In the light of this, see 'Fade Away' as a sonic tableau that makes past memories come alive. 'Chromelike Splinters' comes with almost no drum accentuation and it certainly doesn't need any for it is that kind of core minimalism that is to it, making this song as intriguing as it actually is and intriguing is also the right word to sum up 'Stranger'. The changes aren't obvious to the ear in the first run, and not even in the second. The album reveals its secrets one at a time which is just the way it has to be.


Tracklist

01 Love Goddess & The Love Ghost
02 Along The Great Divide
03 Mesmerized
04 From The Top Of The World (Rats)
05 Stranger
06 And The Singer Sings His Song
07 Fade Away (Theme For Dead Cities)
08 Chromelike Splinters
09 Mother Nature's Presence
10 You & I
11 Three Words For The Lovers


Line-Up

Carlo van Putten - Vocals
Pete Brough - Acoustic Guitars
Ralf Aussem - Guitars
Sven-Olaf Dirks - Bass
Patrick Schmitz - Drums


Website

http://www.deadguitars.com/ / http://de-de.facebook.com/pages/Dead-Guitars/297763331665


Cover Picture




Rating

Music: 9
Sound: 9
Extras: -
Total: 9 / 10