Artist: De Staat
Title: Machinery
Label: Cool Green Recordings
Genre: Rock
Bitrate: 202kbit av.
Time: 00:40:54
Size: 62.12 mb
Rip Date: 2011-02-11
Str Date: 2011-03-07
01. Ah, I See 3:28
02. Sweatshop 3:17
03. I'll Never Marry You 3:01
04. Old Macdonald Don't Have No Farm No More 4:01
05. I'm A Rat 3:48
06. Keep Me Home 4:34
07. Tumbling Down 2:50
08. Psycho Disco 3:15
09. Rooster-Man 4:02
10. Serial Killer 3:33
11. Back To The Grind 5:05
Release Notes:
One of the biggest dangers in music journalism is hyperbole û either
succumbing to it or producing it û and so press releases must be
treated with the utmost caution lest you be led astray by their wildly
over-eager praise and deeply emotive adjectives. However, the press
release that accompanied De Staat was enough to arouse interest and if
the comparisons drawn (Nick Cave, Captain Beefheart, Queens of the
stone age) only draw part of the picture, well we can forgive them for
getting hung up on the big names.
Actually, the first name that springs to mind when checking out De
StaatÆs excellent second album æMachineryÆ is the Butthole Surfers.
That is old Butthole surfers (before they got all screwed up by
electronic gizmos on æweird revolutionÆ) when they released singles
like æPepperÆ and hard rock belters like æthe lord is a monkeyÆ and, in
the same vein, De Staat are genre-hopping Gremlins of the first order
who take in the eclectic, grand slamming funk of Beck, the dance
grooves of KelisÆ æMilkshakeÆ, the horny soul of QOTSA via ôMake it wit
chuö and the lost, gothic romanticism of Nick Cave often within the
same song.
Opening with the slamming ôAh, I seeö which has a massive bass rumble,
sub-rave repetitive sound effects and guitars which are channelled from
a heavy metal concert, itÆs as if Primus and the Butthole Surfers have
magically got it together and reappeared after a decade in the
wilderness and the result is electrifying. Torre FlorimÆs mercurial
vocals sit at the heart of the thing û like Gibby Haynes he adopts
whatever character suits the song, often sounding completely different
depending upon the musical backdrop his band decide to provide as we
quickly see on the second track; the bonkers, brilliant slice of
twisted alternative pop-funk that is ôsweatshopö, a track that
references Outkast, Kelis and Beck without missing a beat or sounding
in any way contrived. ItÆs mad as a fish in willies, but a huge amount
of fun. Moving swiftly on without pausing for breath the band lurch
into ôIÆll never marry youö which is so Nick Cave-esque you have to
pause to make damn sure you havenÆt popped in some weird-ass
alternative compilation into the CD player instead especially as the
chorus sees the track segue blithely into pure QOTSA territory complete
with falsetto and languid guitars. However, this is De Staat and they
can only remain serious for so long which is why the insane ôOld
Macdonald donÆt have no farm no moreö (which sounds like a martinet
Sergeant-Major singing a marching song to a skeletal, bass-laden dance
track) appears immediately afterwards and sends the lunacy, and genius,
levels into overdrive.
If æIÆll never marry youÆ contained elements that were QOTSA, æIÆm a
ratÆ is pure Josh Homme sleaze, with a creepy falsetto backed by a
gentle, groin-rocking groove that suits the bedroom far better than the
dance floor although it may prove effective in either, and you start to
wonder if maybe De Staat are trying to replace Barry White as the
bedroom crooners of choice. If that is there aim, however, they hide it
well when they unleash deranged tracks like ækeep me homeÆ which is
dark, brooding and sounds like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club playing the
soundtrack to one of David BowieÆs cocaine-induced nightmares complete
with haunting gospel-esque backing vocals and lush instrumentation.
Upon fading out through a haze of feedback and unsettling noise
æTumbling downÆ resets the bandÆs groove via a mechanistic drum beat
and Blur (13 era) style harmonies û sort of how you imagine 13 would
have sounded if it had been produced by Trent Reznor and Saul Williams
while æPsycho discoÆ sounds more-or-less exactly as you might imagine
it would sound!
With paranoia seemingly creeping in to the bandÆs set, ærooster manÆ is
a fantastic slab of twisted stoner groove that suggests that the
initial high of the first few tracks has now diminished to a vague,
sweat-soaked sheen of paranoia that makes for unhinged, but utterly
addictive listening. Huge slabs of synth crawl over the bass-led groove
while the vocals shimmer under the layer of reverb that attempts to
smother them. If hell has a disco, this could very well be its
spectacular soundtrack. æSerial killerÆ brings back the funk, although
itÆs a dark, twisted funk far from the half-assed, dull, pop-infused
funk of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and it sounds quite brilliant. Final
track æback to the grindÆ lives up to its name by referencing BeckÆs
ôsoul sucking jerkö in terms of attitude and sheer visceral thrill with
huge slabs of grinding rhythm shooting through it.
De Staat, it has to be said, are quite, quite brilliant. While it is a
given that they will not appeal to the more metal-minded readers who
visit SonicAbuse, for those who have a hankering for the days when Mike
Patton would bounce between Loveage, Tomahawk and Pepping Tom, when
Butthole Surfers provided the soundtrack to Beavis and Butthead and
when Primus ground out twisted slabs of funky brilliance then this is
for you. Comparisons to QOTSA, Nick Cave, Captain Beefheart and the
like are fair and understandable, but thereÆs so much more going on
here û as if Torre FlorimÆs twisted muse has infected the other members
of this unique band and sent all five spinning off on some mad, Hunter
S. Thompson journey into the mescaline-soaked desert. Inspiring, insane
and ingenious, this is what pop music should sound like rather than the
mass-produced, soulless, mindless crap ground out on X factor.
æMachineryÆ should be required listening for anyone with a pulse û it
really is quite remarkable.