Tuesday, September 2, 2014

CASSETTE REVIEW: Dunnock “Promo 2014” (Psalm 86)


                Psalm 86, in the Bible, is “The Prayer of David” and if you’re curious as to what that entails you should simply google it or consult your nearby Bible.    As a label, Psalm 86 is apparently partnered with Acephale Winter Productions so you have an idea going in that this one might be kind of heavy.

                And Dunnock most certainly does not disappoint in that way.   The music is heavy, yet melodic.   There is screaming, but the screams are pained and do not seem to really have words coming through with them.   It’s somewhere between The Dedication and Misery Signals, on a general hardcore level, but then for purposes of other cassettes that could be similar I’d equate it with I Like You, Go Home just as well.

                On Side B though, we get an almost 180 turn as it becomes a lot quieter and loses what seemed to make it hardcore from the start.    There is ambience to it, there are synth strings and at times it could even be considered drone before the satellite frequencies begin to change.   It isn’t 100% minimal or quietcore, as some of the ambient/drone cassettes can be, but it is quite a departure from Side A.

                Though I feel as if I’ve typed this before, it is important to remember that this holds differences between Sides A and B for what I feel are good reasons.   If Side B was in fact a closer reflection of Side A, then you might feel the sense of overkill or it just being too closely related where perhaps it might sound as if the two sides were actually the same.

                The differences between the two sides help connect this cassette overall, as it doesn’t stray too far away from its roots at any given point, and it also just helps to keep from the feeling of excess, which is something we see far too much of in music these days (Pop acts release thirteen songs when all they really needed was one), so for this to be what it is on both sides with the art and juxtaposition of it just couldn’t be more perfect. 






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