Day 0888 - The Contino Sessions

Death in Vegas “The Contino Sessions” (1999)

The band were originally called ‘Dead Elvis’, but as it tunred out this was the name of an existing record label.  They changed their name to the thematically similar ‘Death in Vegas’ and used the Dead Elvis moniker for their first album instead.

The Contino Sessions (named for their recording space) is their second album.  The blurb in the book mentioned DJing and electronica and I’d thought that I’d be getting something very much in that musical arena.   I was quite surprised then to hear the opening track “Dirge” that starts with a sparse guitar line and vocals, then eventually builds to a Shoe-gazey wall of guitar noise.  

There are definitely electronic elements here (electronic beats, loops) but the sound veers between the aforementioned shoegazey sound and triphop, with shoe-gaze/wall-of-guitar band Jesus and Mary Chain’s vocalist Jim Reid featuring on one track “Broken Little Sister”.  Actually, that one sounded a bit familiar to me.

The second track “Soul Auctioneer” features a sinister, subdued groove that would not feel out of place on an early Massive Attack album.   Iggy Pop features spoken word vocals on “Aisha”, meanwhile the track “Aladdin’s Story” is a rare burst of upbeat melody amongst the gloom… though even there, it’s deceptive.  The few lyrics are hardly uplifting “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen/Nobody knows my sorrow”.

Day 0844 - Let's Get Killed

David Holmes “Let’s Get Killed” (1997)

Belfast DJ/Producer David Holmes started DJing in local bars in his teens, playing a widely eclectic mix of music.  When he was 17 he travelled to the US and recorded overheard conversations on a portable recording device.  Some of those bits of dialogue turn up here.

The dialogue is mixed with dance and hip-hop beats. Sounds of jazz, funk and a range of other genres are wrapped in too.  The title track in particular weaves Holmes' found sounds through a moody electro soundscape that builds into a creepy drum and bass workout.

Holmes' sound was almost cinematic in its narrative approach and mix of styles... not surprising then that he would go onto score a large number of movies, including the "Oceans Eleven" trilogy.

Day 0484 - Architecture and Morality

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "Architecture and Morality" (1981)

 
OMitD are one of those bands where I had heard their name plenty of times but wasn't really familiar with them musically.  Something about them (maybe as simple as liking their album artwork or liking their name) made me really keen to check them out.

The actual result fits in the "it's alright, but I wouldn't rush to listen to it again" category.  An album of synth-pop that the book perhaps overhyped with its various Beatles comparisons: they're from Liverpool and deliver their mix of pop and experimentalism in digestible 3 1/2 minute chunks.

I listened through a couple of times and none of the music particularly stayed with me.  There were parts where I enjoyed a melody here or a synth-line there, but largely it passed me by without too much fanfare. 

Regardless, I would be willing to hear more from this band.