The 2000's are coming to a close and
I thought for sure that the decade's crowning lo-fi achievement
would be The Glow Pt. 2. But for every Pavement, there's bound
to be a Guided By Voices, and it looks like The Microphones are
finally gonna have to share their throne with Have A Nice Life
because their debut, Deathconsciousness is sprawling double album
that emerges as a transcendent, emotional masterpiece.
And this much is clear even before listening
to the damn thing. It's plastic case is twice as big as a normal
cd jewel case and will stick out like a sore thumb in your collection.
It was composed over the course of nearly six years and is supplemented
with a 75 page booklet that's filled with history lessons and
theories that strengthen it's enormous themes of death and religion.
But it's epic scope isn't just on the surface; every repeat listen
further reveals it's ambitions to be bigger than anything released
this decade. This is all the more striking considering the fact
that it's an mail-order-only release, from a completely unknown
duo that is essentially a personal bedroom recording project,
based in Connecticut of all places. But we get the sense that
Tim and Dan aren't trying to become successful musicians, or even
musicians at all. They're simply obscure philosophers and this
is the soundtrack to their byzantine ideas.
Despite such complex conceptual motives,
the musical ideas on Deathconsciousness are strikingly bare. Unlike
Phil Elvrum who tended to show off his dynamic range, Have A Nice
Life let their somber progressions sit, gaining resonance and
power with droning repetition while they layer it with swirling
patterns of emotive vocals. Every moment of vulnerability is expanded
like taffy to it's breaking point, drenched in a subterranean,
lo-fi mist and driven by industrial drum machines that make it
sound like it's been recorded in a boiler room. The result is
a mix of Post Punk, Shoegaze and Post Rock, but what Deathconsciousness
accomplishes is beyond genre. "A Quick One Before The Eternal
Worm..." is stunningly spacious and formless whereas the
furious punk of "Waiting For Black Metal Records..."
and "The Future" are condensed blasts of rage. The heartbreaking
depths of "Who Would Leave Their Son...", "The
Big Gloom" and "I Don't Love" are bottomless while
the mind-shattering "Earthmover" rises past heaven in
true GY!BE fashion. And interludes like "There Is No Food"
and "Deep Deep" exhibit barricades of impenetrable sound
and texture.
Affectionately advertised by it's creators
as "the most depressing album ever made" and running
past 85 minutes, a full listen to Deathconsciousness can be exhausting.
But anyone who meets it halfway will likely have a religious experience.
With the exception of the tired "Telephony", it is nearly
perfect. It plays not like an album, but like a powerful film.
Unfortunately, getting a hold of this little-known gem can be
a pain, but I can't stress enough that Deathconsciousness should
not be missed by anyone. (Aron Fischer)
For
fans of: My Bloody Valentine, Sigur Ros, Godspeed You! Black Emperor,
Joy Division, Microphones
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