Dureforsog - Engine Machine

  by Andrew Carver

published: 22 / 6 / 2002

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Review

Dureforsog are a Danish quartet who are just edging into the avant garde; 'Engine Machine' is their second album on the Kool Arrow label. The band is vocalist Boriz S., guitarists Nils B. and Mads H., and drummer Andreas H. They are usually abetted by bassist Frederik Thaae and Adam Hashemi Bonlokke who adds percussion and occasionally takes a turn at the keyboards. There is an obvious appreciation for the collected works of Mike Patton, the Faith No More vocalist who has been steadily expanding the boundaries of popular music with his other band Mr. Bungle, solo work, collaborations with other“out-there” musicians and later projects like Tomahawk. There’s a touch of Girls Against Boys, notably in the first song, 'Traffix' — perhaps because there are three bass lines on it. Fans of This Heat will hear a few familiar sounds as well. Most of the effects Dureforsog use are a little on the well-worn side; stilted sing-speaking, electronic squiggles, breathy female vocals at the bridge and pitch shifting (including, in 'Up Tide' squeaky vocals which reminded me of Alvin and the Chipmunks — next time guys, just say no). When it comes to edgy music, most of it amounts to yelling boo twice. Therein lies the problem with an otherwise good album — somebody’s already done it, and losing the element of surprise makes it that much easier to spin one of their inspirations  instead. On the plus side, the production is very good, particularly the guitar sounds — the fuzzy riff on 'Interlude' played by guest Peter Peter is a highlight. A good but largely unneccesary record.

Track Listing:-

1 Traffix
2 All I Have In My Pocket
3 A Racetrack
4 Nothing At All
5 Interlüde
6 Engine Machine
7 Get On Land
8 Up Tide
9 Kitchen Device
10 Rundetaarn, Kbh.
11 Bethnal Green