Dead Voices on Air "Frankie Pett Presents the Happy Submarines, Playing the Music of Dead Voices on Air"
Invisible Records INV164CD 2000 (53:49)

Introduction (B.V. Hoorn) (:07)
Zeehond (Spybey, Verschuuren, Dunn-Kierxs, Neudorf) (2:57)
Dogger (Spybey, Neudorf) (3:15)
Bored of Canada (Spybey, Neudorf, Philips) (6:00)
Mk NT 37 g/h/i class (Spybey) (2:50)
Dolfijn (Spybey) (5:52)
Wet Fire Cotton (Neudorf, Spybey, Verschuuren, N.V. Hoorn) (5:21)
Son of the Adding Machine (Spybey) (7:39)
Sweet Garbage Streets (Spybey) (9:48)
The Brother Casio (Spybey) (5:02)
Ice Cream for Girl (Spybey, Verschuuren, N.V. Hoorn) (4:58)

Mark Spybey's most interesting work is often the result of collaborative efforts.  Most of this album is produced and engineered by either Frank "Frankie Pett" Verschuuren (Legendary Pink Dots / Teargarden) or Daryl Neudorf (Abintra) with Frankie being the executive producer, thus some of the meaning behind the goofy title (the rest is somewhat explained by the humorous work of fiction in the insert).  Contributing musically are several live players including Neudorf and Niels Van Hoorn, also of the Pink Dots.  Half of the 10 tracks (the first is merely a 7 second spoken introduction by Niels' young son Bert) are solo Spybey and the other half collaborations.  Spybey's solo tracks are mostly typical soundscape pieces comprised of synth textures and drones, sampled sounds and bits of bass.  The exception is "The Brother Casio" which features a tediously repetitive, overdriven beat that's most likely a pre-set on a cheap Casio synth.  This track aside, Spybey's solo work is pleasantly relaxing but there's nothing much more to say than that.  It's the other half of the album where things get really interesting as Spybey's atmospheres and programming mesh with the organic sounds of the additional players through jamming and sampling.  "Zeehond" playfully splashes keyboard sounds and bass throbs around a cut up drum rhythm by Bradley Dunn-Klerxs.  "Dogger", with Neudorf, is also ambient-ish with bell tones and processed metallic sounds clipping along.  "Bored of Canada" is a live track, though you'd never know it, recorded in Germany this past February.  Here DVOA includes Neudorf on drums and Darren Philips on keys for a mellow jam similar in sound to Boards of Canada, which the title is obviously poking fun at.  Once "Wet Fire Cotton" blasts off, it's dangerously close to the soundtrack realms of Barry Adamson with its car chase paced rhythm, Neudorf's guitar and bass lines and Van Hoorn's intermittent sax riffs.  "Ice Cream for Girl" is the most ambient journey with soft spoken words, a howling wind, synth twinkles and some fluttering flute by Van Hoorn.  Notice I've yet to mention the word 'vocals'?  That's because there essentially aren't any, anywhere, which is very disappointing.  The album as a whole is too heavy on the soundscape side ... I really yearn for more collaborations and vocalized songs such as those on the previous album "Piss Frond".  "Frankie Pett" is a good album but it fails to take full advantage of its creative potential and simply isn't as inventive and interesting as Piss Frond ...

Dead Voices on Air
Invisible Records

Where did I get this cd? - mail order via CD World.

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