DD/MM/YYYY Leaves Questionable Taste in Mouth with New Release
DD/MM/YYY’s Black Square has great songs, poor sound
DD/MM/YYYY
Black Squares
Released on Sep 15, 2009
More proof that Toronto is bound to take the musical world by storm,
experimental indie band DD/MM/YYYY has come stateside to terrorize our
ears with their self-proclaimed "spastic, specially challenged
art rock." Normally I'm not one to enjoy more experimental music.
I like my music basic, dirty, and driven. But DD/MM/YYYY somehow escape
the weird, overenthusiastic experimental trash can and succeeded in
breaking my barrier. I was surprised that I enjoyed many of the tracks
on the album, despite the rampant synthesizer solos and erratic drum
beats. “Infinity Skull Cube” starts off with a simple drum pattern
and grows into a great song, with the members all taking turns singing
chorus. It’s an interesting song, nothing too innovative however
entertaining. The way the group accompanies Tomas Del Balso in
their songs is reminiscent of the late band the Blood Brothers.
These are a talent group of Canadians. The transition from “They”
to “Infinity Skull Cube” is downright sexy, the slow, smooth beat
of “They” breaking down into the rim taps of “Infinity Skull Cube.”
Unlike a lot of bands that dub themselves “art rock,” DD/MM/YYYY
never uses the moniker as an excuse to make disorganized music.
Each track is precise and to the point, but still weird as ever.
One thing about Black Square was extremely off-putting - the
lo-fi quality of the recording. I'm all for a lo-fi take on an album,
as long as it's fitting. For a two piece such as the Black Keys, this
works perfectly. It fits their style, and can even enhance the gritty
nature of some of their tracks. But for Black Sqaures this hindered
my listening experience. There was no definition in each of the takes.
In their song "Lismer" it starts off with a distorted drum
beat behind a screeching guitar. It sounds like it would be great if
only the drums weren't so washed out. There's no point in the album
where you can feel the bass thump in your heart and the snap of the
drummer's snare on the downbeat. It's all flat and at times, lifeless.
At first I thought it was just my headphones, but after using a set
of studio mixing headphones and my sound system at home I was still
left with the same feeling. I'm not sure if this was done intentionally,
if this was a money issue, or if this was mixed for one of it's intended
mediums (DD/MM/YYYY released Black Square on casette tape as
well). If I learned one thing from art school it’s that sound
is the most important part of any piece. An album can be the next Abbey Road but I would never listen to it if it had bad recording
and mixing. Black Square would be that much more impressive
if it had a louder, more defined mix. r car? To me this seems like a waste. Just buy it
on iTunes or at your nearest record store on CD instead.
High Point
“Digital Haircut” is a great way to end an album – drums thumping and men screeching.
Low Point
Releasing your new album on cassette is kind of awesome and old school, but how many of us actually own a cassette tape player other than possibly in our car? To me this seems like a waste. Just buy it on iTunes or at your nearest record store on CD instead.
Posted by Amy Dittmeier on Sep 17, 2009 @ 6:00 am
