Dälek - Absense
I've heard of Dälek before; always meant to listen to some of their stuff, but never got around to it, so I'm pretty excited for this one.
Track 1: Distorted Prose (5:59)
A capella opening. The beat ****ing rules, there's a bass line that kinda sounds like something out of the Aesop book, but then there's this blaring white noise that keeps coming in and out. That was a great opener.
Track 2: Asylum (Permanent Underclass) (5:48)
I'm loving these bass heavy boom bap drums over this industrial noise backdrop. I like his lyricism a lot too, his wordplay is better than what I was expecting. Yeah no complaints here so far.
Track 3: Culture For Dollars (6:43)
There's this drill like opening that I thought was pretty dope. The beat is kinda similar to the rest, wait not anymore. Ah yeah I'm loving this one it has a great hook to it. The record scratches all add to the noisy backdrop because they all distort under the music.
Track 4: Absense (1:42)
Okay droning synths to start off, very dark. Wish that was longer.
Track 5: A Beast Caged (6:41)
I like the "snare" tone on this song a lot. What I love about this album is they give a lot of time to let the instrumental breathe which is missing in a lot of hip-hop. It's why I love Earl so much. I'm gonna have to dig in to the lyrics on subsequent listens because I know he has a lot to say based on what I'm comprehending on first listen. Oh the noise has been growing since the start of the track.
Track 6: Köner (3:56)
Reverbed out sitar opens this up, as well these white noise synths buried in the backround. Just an instrumental, but a pretty well done one. I like the warbling synths here at the end giving this beautiful melody.
Track 7: In Midst Of Struggle* (7:43)
The way the drums distort around the beat is perfect. Oh yeah I can see where acts like blackhandpath totally got their influence from. That one had like 4 minute instrumental coda, again I love that it gives variety to the album, you don't know what your getting with each track.
Track 8: Eyes To Form Shadows (6:30)
I can't even explain how awesome this opening was. I think this is one of my favorite beats on the album. I didn't love his voice at first, but it's totally growing on me. Yeah this song ****in rules.
Track 9: Ever Somber (4:49)
This is definately the most conventional track on the album, more of an emphasis on melody (even if it is droning). It's not really a bad thing, again I like the variety thi a album has to offer.
Track 10: Opiate the Masses (7:23)
I have to find the source material for all the samples on this album. I also need to look up the damn lyrics because it's a lot to take in at once.
Final Verdict: Another great album, and albums like this is why I decided to start this thread. Sure I'll have to deal with ICP today, but it's a small trade off for a thread that has given me so much great music already. This album has a mix of great lyrics, great musical sensibility, and a willingness to deviate from the norm. My only problem was his voice annoyed me for a while, but I got over that for the most part. This us an album I'll be revisiting soon.
8/10 (for now it might change with more listens)