Black Dice - Creature Comforts

  by Maarten Schiethart

published: 4 / 8 / 2004

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I love Black Dice's 'Creature Comforts' more with each listening. A trip to the Zoo couldn''t be much better fun. The album is spooky and sounds busy and who would not want comfort from this creature? When Black Dice tumble your way, their rolling sound shall turn you curious. There is no voodoo on the new Black Dice album, however. 'Creature Comforts' does have the look and sound of an eerie monster epic , but the big idea behind it is that of a funny and friendly jungle experience. The eight and a half minute 'Creature' actually is like the parading of naughty animals banging drums, testing instruments and electronica. 'Creature Comforts' has a very strong aftermath feeling to it. Redemption in the compositions results in laid-back confusion. Its odd layers have bits of gentle snare play, quarck echoes with a duck conducting pulsating burps which then lead into tribal percussion. Black Dice seem to have succeeded in driving sheep and monkeys into a computer class room, yet it's the pupils who are in charge of the course. I would suspect Black Dice of breeding gremlins in their backyard. Space invaders from Planet Hawaii buzz around on 'Skeleton' , while the smooth sway from steel guitars make up soundscapes with echoes of reversed twang. 'Creature Comforts' remains a disorientating album to listen to. Science fiction this is not. The digital sounds wax and wane like lunar waves and most surprisingly these are even funky with remotely pounding basses. Is it laughing gas that calls for the sheer entertaining value of 'Creature Comforts'? A radio play by tomorrow's standards is descriptive of this excellent release. No speech, no dialogues but plenty of encrypted messages tell an inward looking story. The album closes with, as one would expect, an attack in sound. The last of the eight tracks 'Night Flight' is a great apotheosis to an innovative album.

Track Listing:-

1 Cloud Pleaser
2 Treetops
3 Island
4 Creature
5 Live Loop
6 Skeleton
7 Schwip Schwap
8 Night Flight

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/Black-Dice-59323771359/
http://blackdice.net/
https://twitter.com/echobro

Label Links:-

http://www.fat-cat.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/FatCatRecords
http://fatcat-records.tumblr.com/
https://www.youtube.com/fatcatrecords
https://twitter.com/FatCatRecords

Have a Listen:-

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