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THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS, "THE WHISPERING WALL"
ROIR
The Legendary Pink Dots seem unaware or unconcerned about the unwrittenrecord industry rule that discourages artists from releasing multiplealbums simultaneously. The proverbial wisdom has it that multiplereleases confuse the record-buying public, and the albums tend tocannabilize each other's sales. Multiple albums have ruined a multitudeof bands, from the Incredible String Band all the way to Kiss and GunsN' Roses. Well, the Pink Dots have been ignoring that maxim for quite awhile now. In fact, Pink Dots albums tend to come it two and threes,often with a few solo albums thrown in for good measure. No exceptionhere, as this month brings three new Pink Dots releases, in addition toa new Ka-Spel solo album. Everything is being released on the eve oftheir North American tour, which takes them through far more US citiesthan any other underground British/Dutch post-industrial psychedelicart-goth group could even dream of visiting. The extensive touring maybe the secret to the Pink Dots impressive longevity and endurance, asthey are frequently one of the most critically ignored bands in theunderground scene. The Whispering Wallisn't going to rectify this situation, a typically indigestibleconcoction of psychedelic whimsy, wildly experimental textures, denselyprophetic lyrical themes and skewed songwriting all mixed up togetherin a gooey prog-rock quagmire. Evaluating its relative quality comparedto other albums is almost a moot point, as most hardcore Dots fans willcertainly want to own every album regardless, and others stopped caring30 albums ago. That said, The Whispering Wall does have some brilliant moments, and is very cohesive, easily eclipsing 2002's double feature of All The King's Horses and All The King's Men,albums that had strong points, but would have been better whittled downto a single disc. Those albums saw the band in a transitional period,finding their footing after the departure of Ryan Moore, trying out amore intimate, stripped-down sound that became tiresome after a fewlistens. This time around, there's been a few more personnel changes —the loss of guitarist/violinist Martijn de Kleer and the addition ofguitarist Erik Drost — but the Pink Dots have come out intact andsmelling (and sounding) like a bouquet of atomic roses. All thefamiliar Dots elements are present on The Whispering Wall.There's a good bit of future-scare dystopian proselytizing ("SoftToy"); a sinister riff on a nursery rhyme ("Dominic"); a slow-cookedinstrumental ("The Region Beyond"); the ubiquitous spoken-word EKSnarrative against a backdrop of densely layered noise and sound effects("The Divide"); and just plain demented silliness ("King of a SmallWorld"). The soupy production by Dots mainstay Raymond Steeg istypically heavy-handed (in a good way, lots of sonic detail), and eachplayer is given time to shine: Silverman's expertly-wieldedsynthesizers and rhythm programming, Niels Van Hoorn's exquisitesaxophone blasts and Erik Drost's gutsy swathes of shredding psychguitar are all variously highlighted in the mix. It's an accomplishedalbum by a prolific band who continue to prove that although less iscertainly more, more can also be more.
The Legendary Pink Dots seem unaware or unconcerned about the unwrittenrecord industry rule that discourages artists from releasing multiplealbums simultaneously. The proverbial wisdom has it that multiplereleases confuse the record-buying public, and the albums tend tocannabilize each other's sales. Multiple albums have ruined a multitudeof bands, from the Incredible String Band all the way to Kiss and GunsN' Roses. Well, the Pink Dots have been ignoring that maxim for quite awhile now. In fact, Pink Dots albums tend to come it two and threes,often with a few solo albums thrown in for good measure. No exceptionhere, as this month brings three new Pink Dots releases, in addition toa new Ka-Spel solo album. Everything is being released on the eve oftheir North American tour, which takes them through far more US citiesthan any other underground British/Dutch post-industrial psychedelicart-goth group could even dream of visiting. The extensive touring maybe the secret to the Pink Dots impressive longevity and endurance, asthey are frequently one of the most critically ignored bands in theunderground scene. The Whispering Wallisn't going to rectify this situation, a typically indigestibleconcoction of psychedelic whimsy, wildly experimental textures, denselyprophetic lyrical themes and skewed songwriting all mixed up togetherin a gooey prog-rock quagmire. Evaluating its relative quality comparedto other albums is almost a moot point, as most hardcore Dots fans willcertainly want to own every album regardless, and others stopped caring30 albums ago. That said, The Whispering Wall does have some brilliant moments, and is very cohesive, easily eclipsing 2002's double feature of All The King's Horses and All The King's Men,albums that had strong points, but would have been better whittled downto a single disc. Those albums saw the band in a transitional period,finding their footing after the departure of Ryan Moore, trying out amore intimate, stripped-down sound that became tiresome after a fewlistens. This time around, there's been a few more personnel changes —the loss of guitarist/violinist Martijn de Kleer and the addition ofguitarist Erik Drost — but the Pink Dots have come out intact andsmelling (and sounding) like a bouquet of atomic roses. All thefamiliar Dots elements are present on The Whispering Wall.There's a good bit of future-scare dystopian proselytizing ("SoftToy"); a sinister riff on a nursery rhyme ("Dominic"); a slow-cookedinstrumental ("The Region Beyond"); the ubiquitous spoken-word EKSnarrative against a backdrop of densely layered noise and sound effects("The Divide"); and just plain demented silliness ("King of a SmallWorld"). The soupy production by Dots mainstay Raymond Steeg istypically heavy-handed (in a good way, lots of sonic detail), and eachplayer is given time to shine: Silverman's expertly-wieldedsynthesizers and rhythm programming, Niels Van Hoorn's exquisitesaxophone blasts and Erik Drost's gutsy swathes of shredding psychguitar are all variously highlighted in the mix. It's an accomplishedalbum by a prolific band who continue to prove that although less iscertainly more, more can also be more.
