REVIEW dep : dep
Combining introspective piano and string dirges (think A Silver Mt Zion) with the rythmic found-sound IDM of Matmos, the melodic electronic act dep kicks off their self-titled full length for 2011 with "Quiet Mornings". This effortlessly flows into "Warming Up", a soothing soundtrack for sunrise, and perhaps the audible equivalent of heat-hungry thermal mass. Shifting into computer rhythms and vocal blips, "I Love You" is next - a wishful love letter sent deep into the recesses of our soul via morse code.
"City Nights" resurrects the choppy field-recording snippets of the opening track, while retaining the bassline from the previous song and pushing the composition into more driving, melodic territory. With its sustaining bassline and subtle glitchy rhythms, it's is a little like The Postal Service off their meds and devoid of microphones. Dwindling down to fluttering pads, the track slowly slides into "Melodic Progression" - a soaring ambient wash of sonic vitality. Never one to just fade out and then back in, dep then transitions directly into "So Ra Ko Ma Lo" - a nightmarish Casio-sample frenzy with pummeling bass verbs and computer organ melodies.
Stuttering pianos, air blasts, and found sounds then present us with an "Evening at the Symphony" like no other. The symphony swells and withdraws like the tide, revealing subtle melodies and woodsy percussive sounds drowning beneath the light rain of the ensuing "Morning Showers". Close-mic'ed gutter drumming and chiptunes chase away the slow tempo with a dose of fuzzy upbeat square waves over organ. The fun ends abruptly, giving way to the only pause between songs on the entire album. But don't touch that dial, as the last song "Music Before 7am" is a real gem, assembling field-recorded rhythms (that almost feel tribal at times) with delightfully muffled piano melodies and buzzing bass lines, topped with subtle reversing organs. This closing track, along with "City Nights", showcases all that is best about this act and leaves the best of tastes in one's earbuds. Recommended!
