Album Review: Trans-Love Energies by Death In Vegas

Tough, transcendent and sexy in a rather odd fashion.
Guest Review by Ian Wade

Death in Vegas made a couple of splendidly dark and menacing albums in the 1990s, Dead Elvis and the superb Contino Sessions; they then collaborated with Paul Weller, Liam Gallagher and Adult on the far-out Scorpio Rising LP of 2002, and then… well, they seemed to vanish.

It transpires that, after the release of the drone-heavy and largely tune-free Satan’s Circus seven years ago, Richard Fearless dismantled the operation and fled to New York to be a bit arty and form Black Acid – but, with only a MySpace page and hints of an album to their name, that outfit never came to much. He came back to the UK in 2009 and has since been engaged in remixing acts, including The Horrors. But then, a few months ago, an MP3 was hoisted onto the internet, a new tune called Enforced Peace. Street parties were arranged: Death in Vegas were back.

Recorded in Shoreditch and mixed in Michigan, Trans-Love Energies is a moody and spooky affair. Silver Time Machine kicks things off in cheery style with Fearless listing various people such as Elvis, Nico and Hank leaving him and wishing said machine would help revisit them. Just as things are becoming a little depressing, along comes Black Hole, which rides along on Suicide-like banks of My Bloody Valentine-washed guitars, before the pasty early house throb of Your Loft My Acid arrives with Austra’s Katie Stelmanis giving it some ecstatic Donna Summer-in-a-dimensionless-K-hole vocals; later, on Witch Dance, she commands an erotic charge among electronic ruins.

There are nuggets of proper pop craft in amongst the sparse and dark spectrums that Death in Vegas made their own back when, with Scissors being a prime example. Lightning Bolt channels new wavey white dub sleekness, before the album almost vanishes into the ether with the sparse Savage Love – the track snowballs into burning guitars, edging the listener nearer to the light.

Tough, transcendent and sexy in a rather odd fashion, Trans-Love Energies is a fine return and a worthy addition to the catalogue of a band whose path has become more of a fantastic voyage than a standard career.

This review is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. The original appears at http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/4zq4/

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Log #116 - Before Billy Became Bonnie

Mouse On Mars - Vulvaland

Radiohead - The Best Of

Palace Brothers - Days In The Wake

Griffin Anthony - The Refuge

Tangerine Dream - Encore

Death In Vegas - Trans- Love Energies

The Radiohead compilation was released in 2008 but actually only contains selections from the band's first 6 albums up to Hail To The Thief (2003). No surprises it's mostly early period biased with 6 tracks from their second album The Bends (1995) and only one from the excellent Amnesiac (2001). The tracks are not sequenced in chronological order which actually works well, helping make it quite a good coherent standalone album (or double album in old money with 17 tracks). I'm only just rediscovering Radiohead and don't have all their albums but this would seem an excellent summary either for a new fan wanting to discover more, or someone who only feels the need for one Radiohead album.

1. "Just" (from The Bends, 1995)
2. "Paranoid Android" (from OK Computer, 1997)
3. "Karma Police" (from OK Computer, 1997)
4. "Creep" (from Pablo Honey, 1993)
5. "No Surprises" (from OK Computer, 1997)
6. "High and Dry" (from The Bends, 1995)
7. "My Iron Lung" (from The Bends, 1995)
8. "There There" (from Hail to the Thief, 2003)
9. "Lucky" (from OK Computer, 1997)
10. "Optimistic (Radio edit)" (from Kid A, 2000)
11. "Fake Plastic Trees" (from The Bends, 1995)
12. "Idioteque" (from Kid A, 2000)
13. "2 + 2 = 5" (from Hail to the Thief, 2003)
14. "The Bends" (from The Bends, 1995)
15. "Pyramid Song" (from Amnesiac, 2001)
16. "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" (from The Bends, 1995)
17. "Everything in Its Right Place" (from Kid A, 2000)

Lots of tracks is a frequent bugbear I have with CDs (quantity winning out over quality). This is fair enough for the Tangerine Dream live album Encore as it was originally a double vinyl album. The single CD contains 4 "side long" pieces with evocative titles in keeping with the tour's location (the album was recorded during the band's North American tour of Spring 1977):

Cherokee Lane, Monolight, Coldwater Canyon, and Desert Dream.

Like most of TD's live concerts the tracks are generally originals but variations on the studio tracks do weave in and out of the performances.

The Death In Vegas album is also a lot of listening - over 100 minutes in my version which contains the bonus CD. The very first track is entitled Silver Time Machine but then weirdly it is the second track Black Hole that sounds like a cover of Hawkwind's Silver Machine. There are indeed a lot of influences in this music - krautrock, electronica, grunge, industrial, techno, 80s synth and indie. Definitely a candidate for the music map:

I have to say this map looks a bit sparse (the programme is based on users' preferences so I imagine there isn't much data on Death In Vegas). I certainly don't get the Up Bustle and Out reference.

Initial standout track is the ravetastic Your Loft My Acid:

Much more to discover on this band and album for sure. What fun.

Over staying a welcome is not an accusation that can levelled at our next two miniatures: the Palace Brothers and Griffin Anthony albums are a very manageable in both length and structure - a return to the basics of acoustic instrumentation and old fashioned song writing after (it has to be said) Eddy has been a bit "off on one" in recent posts.

Will Oldham is a confusing artist in terms of the names he goes by. Palace Brothers was his first moniker way back in 1993. Even more confusing this album (his second) originally had no title. In fact my copy is not titled (in keeping with the very understated music the cover of the album shows the singer in blurred silhouette against some net curtains). Later versions were given the Days In The Wake title although this was still not printed on the cover. The Palace Brothers name was then replaced by Palace Music before Oldham settled on his most famous stage name Bonnie "Prince" Billy which he has largely stuck with since 1998, just occasionally releasing an album under his real name.

The primary purpose of the pseudonym is to allow both the audience and the performer to have a relationship with the performer that is valid and unbreakable.

He has also revisited his back catalogue and in 2004 released Sings Greatest Palace Music where he re-recorded his solo Palace era music with a country band. About half of the tracks on Days In The Wake reappear in their more up tempo band setting on Sings Greatest....I love the album of reworkings although I have read original fans didn't like it and it received a bewilderingly scathing review in Pitchfork. Perhaps it was significant I heard Sings Greatest...before the originals. True, the versions are very different. They are almost different songs. But so what, Dylan and Young have been reworking their songs for years.

Palace period Will Oldham before he became Bonnie "Prince" Billy

One thing that is constant is Will Oldham's weak and fragile voice which literally cracks under the slightest of pressure. I love it. It may be weak in the traditional sense but it is packed full of emotion and is perfect for his songs.

He's also not afraid to stop when he's said enough. This album is small and perfectly formed with it's 10 tracks clocking in at a remarkable 27 minutes. Not the only time Oldham has served up a very short album (the delicious Master And Everyone springs to mind).

A weak voice is not an issue with country maverick Griffin Anthony who has one of those effortlessly laid back drawls synonymous with easy going country music. His Refuge is a pure and simple album which sounds like it was recorded in your front room. I guess with a bunch of crack Nashville sessions players too. Sure it's country (with a generous sprinkling of contemporary "alt" and "americana") and the lyrics confirm this - old tales of war vets, goldrush prospectors, and god fearing, hard fighting, working men fallen on hard times. But Griffin isn't afraid to rock out too - Only Hope Remains could be a stadium filler, or even get funky in places - On The Level with it's stuttering guitar strum sounds like Bill Withers. Nicely done.

***

It's that time of year when the year end best of lists start to emerge. I think many years ago there would be some degree of consensus in the press. There was less music around and a more focused genre of music attached to each era. Now anything goes and anyone can make a record.

One of the best lists around is produced by Brighton's local Resident Records. If you are in the area it is worth picking up a free copy of their Annual - actually I think the nice boys and girls there will send you one (or possibly add one to any online orders). It is worth a read and you're sure to discover new music. You can view online here too:  The Resident Annual.

I'll be doing my own 2018 review in the next week or so.

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