dive - behind the sun

Behind the Sun pushes the boundaries of Dive’s sound and reminds us all why they deserve mention as electronic innovators. Minimal repetitive drones that work. Almost glitch inspired, but retaining a strong focus on groove, and gnarly vocals to keep the perceptions twisted and confused. Avoiding the formula of noisy beats, yet at the same time refreshing them pushing the envelope with a more airy sound, crackle rather than noise. It’s kinda like a... a delicious pork rind, all crackle with the yummy yummy fat still clinging to the char, that really doesn’t make any sense but does it really need to? Isn’t reviewing all about throwing out false metaphors and bad plays on words? A low hum fills out the dance inspired beats. While minimal vocals punctuate the tracks giving extra oomph to the sounds. Without the vocals it would probably be too minimal, however with them Behind the Sun takes the songs to another level. As usual with Dive you have to appreciate the vocals for what they are: an accompaniment to the droning raging sounds, punctuation added to the audio sentence. And not expect too much depth, too much clarity. The vocals serve as musical accompaniment rather than as lyrical poetry. But the music it is all about the music, the slow static hiss of droning dance rhythms, punctuated with grizzled minimal growls, with spacious accented melodies.

vizgig @ july 2005