Die Princess Die "s/t" CD
[Cut Lips]
As the band name would suggest, this is strange stuff (I believe from ex-Camera Obscura members?). It's basically dark and quirky indie type stuff, often heavily driven by the rhythm section, and the bass is basically a lead instrument against the hard panned guitars, which is really fuckin' interesting as far as how they interact with one another. Vocally there's all sorts of stuff going on, so I imagine these guys might trade off. There's some half-spoken/half-sung action, some all out screaming, some lightly filtered and semi aggressive singing... lots of varying little alterations. Sometimes the music gets pretty heavy and rhythmic (see portions of "Pardon the Interruption"), and sometimes it's a little more spacious and quirky in a Fugazi way (though this band sounds nothing like them). In the instances where it gets a little more irritating and peculiar (the angular and often abrasive "White Signal", for example) I get turned away from it a little bit, but this band is hands down better than a shitload of other acts out there similar to this. The playing is tighter, the sound quality is more appropriate, the writing is more focused and interesting... they're just a better band than most of what you'll get from this general direction. I'm definitely not into the little electronic-y experimental interludes like "Hunting (Remix)", but I'd almost like to hear the laidback and sort of driving rhythm section focus of tracks like "Hunting Lowla" visited more often. The disc gets a little more jarring as it progresses, granted songs like "Elk's Blood" do have a lot of calmer styled moments amidst the squealing feedback and whatnot. Some of the most straightforward chord progressions (both heavy and melodic) appear in the awesome "Cinatic", complete with plenty of pounding repetition. I love the production. The drums sound fucking awesome, the bass tone is unique and often a little fuzzed out, the guitars are clear and dry, as are the vocals... I wouldn't change anything. It's a little on the dry side overall, but it works out great, and really provides so much natural depth to the percussion. I fuckin' love that. The layout's odd, too. Everything's in bright ass pink with black and white, the cover has lips and a moustache, the booklet has images of faceless people wearing sunglasses, and that's it. There's barely any text at all - none in the booklet. Very strange. I like this, not enough to listen to it repeatedly, but it is quite good for what it is. I enjoyed the opening tracks a bit more than anything else, so I thought I was going to be more into it than I am, but personal taste overcomes a bit in the end. I imagine those more into this style would totally dig this, but I can appreciate it. There are some killer tunes here. (6/10)
Running time - 34:35, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Hunting Lowla, Pardon the Interruption, Cinatic]
Die Princess Die - http://www.dieprincessdie.com

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