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| | White Souls in Black Suits | | | Music Artist : | | Clock DVA | | Music Style : | | General | | Record Label : | | Cargo Records | | Release Date : | | 1992-07-31 | | Store Price : | | $15.98 | | Artistopia's Price: $15.98 | |
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Other Artist Albums
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Customer Reviews of This Album/CD |
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 A forgotten gem
Submitted on: 2008-08-11 |
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In contrast to the synthetic futurism of late Clock DVA (every "Buried Dreams" and after), Clock DVA's debut, "White Souls in Black Suits", is a chilled out, improvised album of experimental rock. This album is basically the style they'd continue on their next album, "Thirst", but in its early raw and unrefined form. It was apparently created from over 15 hours of improvs, and so it's incredibly consistent, creative, and listenable.
The main thing that makes this album is the atmosphere. Even if this album, musically, is hardly "industrial", it sums up many of the feelings and attitudes of the early industrial movement quite wonderfully. The songs seem to represent an entire lifestyle, an entire era, and are incredibly raw and expressive in a way little music is. It's not noisy or aggressive, but its particular brand of calm is unique to this era and attitude. It rejects all convention.
At times it does recall influential industrial label-mates Throbbing Gristle with its minimal, spacey guitar textures and wailing, distant horns... Other times it clearly transcends their intentionally inept playing and becomes real rock, with good musicianship, rhythmic grooves, basslines, and melodies. Through it all is the oily, dark, low voice of the soul of Clock DVA, Adi Newton. He rambles and muses with a world weary thoughtfulness, usually content to be incoherent. "No fear, no religion, no new, no old, no language, no knowledge..." he intones lazily on "Discontentment".
The recording quality is bad in the sense that mix is trebly, live sounding and possibly done on a tape recorder, but you can hear everything just fine.
In conclusion, this incarnation of Clock DVA was an excellent jam band whose music recalls a long dead era. Due to its meticulous editing and intelligent track sequencing, "White Souls and Black Suits" is one of the better improv albums I've ever heard. I highly recommend it if you can find it, although not necessarily if you're looking to be introduced to this band. Due to the fact that no other Clock DVA is improvised like this one, it is not very representative, and its not as catchy or accessible as later material.
4.5 stars. |
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