His Electro Blue Voice - Dead Sons 12”
I was a bit late getting into the Italian trio of His Electro Blue Voice, not really hearing them until I listened to their Animal Versus single on Batshit Records that came out a couple years ago. After that however, I found myself seeking out whatever else they had released. As it turns out they aren’t the most prolific band, hanging around since 2006 or so and spitting out a single here and there, so doing so wasn’t terrible hard. The release of this 12-inch, Dead Sons, is quite possibly the longest running item they’ve put out yet, with three songs that span just over 20 minutes or so. They chew it up in fine fashion though, bringing together their usual post-punk influenced sound while bringing in some interesting droning/psychedelic elements to the mix.
The bit of goth-rock leanings that these guys generally had before are all but gone on Dead Sons and instead opting for a more straight, but not any less ominous, post-punk sound. They’ve opened up things here for what I would consider a bit of experimentation, with a couple tracks that are practically divided up into different movements I guess you could say. The lead track “Dead Mice” would certainly count towards one of those, with the first half being a rolling piece of excellent scuzz that eventually hits a point about midway through where it just completely stops. A looping sample plays for about 30 seconds before the song begins to kick back in with a roughly three minute outro complete with saxophone and flute. It eventually gels to what ends up being a fantastic finish and one that only adds to the sense of impending doom that these guys drum up so well.
It ends up that the second track on the a-side “Eat Sons” becomes the outlier here with its three minute run time. There is no shortage of distortion here though, as His Electro Blue Voice throw up a wall of buzzing guitar noise for this one that is propelled along with nice solid rolling drums. An excellent way to finish off the side as it quickly fades out allowing for the track “Zum” on the flip to bring everything back down to a menacing sort of crawl. Opening up with just the pluck of bass, the track gradually builds upon what starts off as a simple ambient piece of droning background feedback that eventually hits an apex, and yet again promptly stops midway through, where the noise jumps out from it’s initial second fiddle placing and promptly swallows everything up. The track gets moving again shortly thereafter with another burst of guitar but quickly sets itself into a groove that plays out the remaining three or so minutes while adding a number of psych/kraut flourishes along the way with keys and the eerie distant howl of someone or something occasionally creeping into the picture.
Love that these guys are willing to go in a number of directions while still firmly holding onto a distinct vibe. Their releases may be too far and few between, but they are no doubt worth the wait. If they ever put together a full-length, beware.
His Electro Blue Voice – Dead Mice (stream)
Those interested in grabbing this can do so by hitting up Brave Mysteries, where it should still be available.
