Since Death In Vegas’ conception almost two decades ago by the pioneering electronic-based musician, Richard Fearless, they have briefly skirted around an array of different genres. Fearless has thrown his musical jacket around the shoulders of psychedelia, trip-hop, dub, Krautrock and industrial sounds, taking a wide range of geographical circuits into inspiration as well, the most prominent of which being Berlin, of course. Death In Vegas’ previous release, Trans-Love Energies documented a venture into the heady colliding worlds of psychedelia and techno. The debut release, Dead Elvis found closer roots in dub whilst the swan-song single released by Fearless was ‘Scorpio Rising’, taking on vocals from Mr Liam Gallagher. Taking this into account, it was interesting to see where the latest and sixth release, Transmission, was to take Fearless and what musical and cultural aspects were keeping him ticking in the contemporary day.
What has often been rested upon Death In Vegas is much in the fashion of the likes of The Chemical Brothers, UNKLE and Orbital. It is their ability to be cross-genre successes, to fit onto the occasional indie compilation that you got free on the front of the NME whilst also pushing boundaries within their own particular electronic orientated genre. As mentioned previously, Fearless has at one point utilised one of Britain’s leading rock’n’roll starlets to help pursue and forge his electronic texture down a different avenue. It pushed the music into the realms of Fred Perry, parka jackets and loafers, it gave sweaty indie-dancefloors a new dynamic away from the The Strokes et al.
Similarly, the use of Iggy Pop within ‘Aisha’ from The Contino Sessions LP. This once again took onboard electronic fans of the late 90s and met them with punk’s number one idol, men felt free to take their tops off more, unafraid of the insecurities that were looming with the internet generation – why? Because it’s not the late 90s now but Iggy Pop is here to remind us all that we look good with no shirt on, even though our stomachs looks like rubber tyres and we have Stella Artois dripping down our bare chests. These aforementioned electronic artists allow for merging genres, indie darlings put away their leather jackets and remove their winkle pickers whilst people who before hated the idea of electronic music now have an avenue to enjoy it.
Death In Vegas’ ability to do this on Transmission finds itself within the trance driven psychedelia, once again referencing towards a music scene that has really been on the rise over previous years. The throbbing kick drum of ‘Arise’ opens the album, seeing Fearless’ newest recruit, Sasha Grey on vocals. Grey provides much of the vocals throughout Transmission, her lyricism outlines the tempo and samplings of Fearless. Within ‘Arise’ the stark repetition through her hushed, hazed vocals gives the music that swamp of nihilism. It’s the perfect soundtrack to a sci-fi dystopia, something fitting to Jonathan Glazer’s Under The Skin. The uncanny nature of it builds and swells as Fearless’ masterclass in texture adds layer upon unnerving layer of the downright sadistic.
Standout tracks on the album build around the hazed wash of Grey’s lucid vocals, ‘Consequence of Love’ adds to this notion further. It stands to be one of those songs that rings around at 6am when the party should have finished but there’s some odd chap who’s made his way over to you, with a horrendously rolled joint trying to talk about the existential and what Bowie was really trying to do with Blackstar. In fact, this nature much outlines a lot of Transmission, the beauty of the album lies within the minimalism and what scalpels gently around Fearless’ low throb. Whether this is the subtle keys incorporated within ‘Flak’ or the swooning phased effects of ‘Strom’ – Fearless really proves his wizardry within the sparse and desolate rather than within the abrasive and claustrophobic. The twelve minute epic of ‘Metal Box’ outlines the soundscapes that Fearless can generate, a warp of samplings, buzzing and throbbing synthesised swells give a fitting platform for the imagery to build upon.
Trans-Love Energies may have seen Death In Vegas try and build on the likes of Spiritualized and Spacemen 3, it was a solid album but it was particularly formulaic in regard that it was exactly that, an electronic take on psychedelia that saw Fearless expand down a different avenue, only to meet a host of other artists trying the same thing. It was good, but not a stand out. Transmission however sees Fearless and Grey in tow really tap the vein of the darkness, the stark throb of Berlin’s electronica. They find their groove from ‘Arise’ and each song takes you down another sleazy, dark alley. It promises nothing but shadows as on the title track, Grey’s vocals build with the song, climaxing at the same time as hurls of repetitive lyrics match the blissful solipsism the song promises.
It is other worldly and quite isolating to listen to as an album, whereas some electronic artists such as Moderat find their section with the optimistic, Death In Vegas have always found closer routes to the darker end of the spectrum, the twisted side. Perhaps The Velvet Underground to Moderat’s The Beatles. It’s the edge, this punk twist that gives them an exciting nature and if Trans-Love Energies felt slightly anti-climatic, Transmission picks up where the likes of Satan’s Circus lead us to fall in love. There are bleedings of Primal Scream’s Evil Heat with cascading tempos and stimulating synthesised beats. Take the collapsing lull of the lead single, ‘You Disco I Freak’. The closer to the album and the closest you get to a real mirage of horror and love, it’s sleepy and lethargic with its undercutting drunken vocals but obscurely adrenaline fuelled motorik beat.
Death In Vegas lie perfectly in the uncanny and the strange. They have produced their strongest piece of music since since Satan’s Circus released in 2004. It finds the real middle ground between the unnerving haze and salient beats. Grey’s vocals outline the fear-inducing darkness, furthermore the cover of Transmission adds to the voyeuristic nature of the music, the peeping eyes – Transmission is the shadow that lurks behind you, watching your every move. It moves within the enigmatic and the desolate. Fearless’ samplings of the industrial centre opposite his Metal Box studio outline much of the album and give a real sense of realism to the music, it feels as if it’s a documentary of urban life and that’s what makes Transmission so great. A solid step back to where Fearless is most at home, in the darkness, looking outwards for the light.
Tom Churchill
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