Customer Reviews

Absence

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dalek plays hip hop unlike any you've heard before. This is powerful stuff. Some of these tracks are the most dark and sinister sounding songs I've heard in a long time. Its actually heavier than most metal I've heard recently and they do this without playing metal guitar riffs. The whole album is great but the 3rd song, Culture for Dollars, is just immense. After listening to this on headphones the beats just seem to stick in my head forever.

This isn't as diverse as the previous album, Filthy Tongues, as the band focuses on a more consistent sound this time. Not necessarily a bad thing, just more consistent. There isn't as much of a tribal vibe to it and I didn't notice any tabla percussion like the other albums, but this record still features some weird interludes and soundscapes. Its tough to describe their sound. They basically create an atmosphere with a lot of dark tension that evolves around beats that are simple but are very deep and very heavy. It sounds like many of their sounds come from guitars that were recorded with delay and looping effects mixed with feedback that create a chaotic and trippy sound anchored nicely by the beats.

Also Dalek's vocals are powerful and they fit the music perfectly. Awesome lyrics too, not your typical commercial rap nonsense. If you like hard music and want something different then check out Dalek. I can't say enough about these last 2 albums they've released. I probably listen to them more than anything else I've picked up the last 2 years, and I hardly own any hip hop or rap albums.

Dalek, probably best known amongst experimental rock circles than hip hop circles, is an interesting ensemble. I've actually come to them from their association with Faust (i.e. through experimental rock circles), and having spent quite a bit of time hoping to find hip hop/rap presented in a unique manner (as opposed to the usual programmed and prefabricated structure typically used in commercial rap) and without the sort of degrading, insulting or appalling lyrics that are often present (Gil Scott-Heron said it best when he said, "four letter words or four syllable words won't make you a poet). I also have a heavy interest in the turntablism (a la DJ Spooky). What I've found in Dalek is something rather interesting and intriguing.

"Absence" is an interesting record, Dalek's raps are rhythmically well execued and lyrically engaging-- again, without spontaneous or pointless use of vulgarity. If it gets his message across, he'll do so, but the words are chosen with a purpose. While I may not always agree with what he says, it is well presented and informed.

Musically, the album moves through noise and industrial modes, its clear the influence of the aformentioned Faust on the band-- largely the beats are laid back behind a droning noise-- the album also lacks the thumping bass so common in rap, instead putting an emphasis on the music's entire dynamic range. Add to this creative use of a turntable from a percussion standpoint-- often times, its the foil for Dalek's vocal. If there's a complaint to be made though, its that the droning and industrial noise background can sometimes get a bit trite-- its largely a similar feel throughout the record. Nonetheless, when I usually encounter something with this much reptition of form, I don't often listen to it, but this record is engaging enough to keep me coming. A result of this similarity is that there's not a lot of standout tracks, although lyrically I find "Asylum" and "In Midst of Struggle" to be the most engaging, rhythmically "Culture for Dollars", and musically, the opener "Distorted Prose" (in many ways the standout on the album) and the instrumental interlude "Absence", which does clearly illustrate how much Dalek has learned from his avant-garde roots. And check out the great scratching throughout, but particularly on "A Beast Caged".

This album is unlikely to gather an audience as it should, but for fans of avant-garde, experimental, and unique music, this is definitely a great record to check out. Recommended.

Ok, i'm not exactly the biggest rap/hip-hop fan but this past year I stumbled across a group that has sparked a new found interest in the genre. The name of the group: Dalek.The first thing to attract me to them was the label they were signed to which is Ipecac, which just happens to be Mike Pattons(of Faith no more/Mr.Bungle/Tomahawk/Fantomas/etc fame) label. I was already a fan of other bands on his label(namely Isis,Fantomas,Guapo,Bohren and der club of gore) and was just checking out the others when I stumbled across Dalek. The other thing that peaked my interest in them was that they have as much in common with noise-rock/industrial(they also did a split album with kraut-rock legends Faust) as they do with hip-hop and rap. They seem to place as much if not more emphasis on the music behind the beat and lyrics, featuring a droning/ambient/industrial feel which seems to swirl around you and permeate your senses and definetely takes more than a few listens to take it all in. Definetely refreshing compared to mainstream standards. What else is that they have a couple instrumental tracks which is unheard of in modern rap.The lyrics are also of interest, pretty much attacking mainstream rappers and their motives, which rang true with what I thought of them as well, an example from the song "Culture for Dollars"..."Who trades his culture for dollars? The fool or the scholar?Griot?Poet?Or white collared?". This has definetely changed my views on rap and I have now come to realize just as with other forms of music, it seems the better quality you want, the more you have to break away from mainstream norms and head for the "underground". This is easily one of my picks for best of 2005. Highly Recommended.

If anyone can recommend some more underground rap that is intelligent and creative it would be most appreciated.

For those familiar:

I was fortunate to see Dalek perform much of their new material last night in Cambridge, MA. I am confident when I say fans should enjoy this new release. The beats a chunkier, the flow is tighter, and the production is all around "sleeker". Much of the material has a more cohesive sound than their previous release "From Filthy Toungues...". Absence's production is darker and heavier than the previous release (if you can believe that) and Dalek himself continues to spit the socially conscious lyrics that drives the other half of the group's appeal.


For those looking for something different:

Dalek is rare animal. One of the few hip hop groups I have seen to tour regularly with respected metal / punk acts (Isis, Melvins...), Dalek has as much in kin with experimental metal and electronic music as it does with hip hop. Never have I heard of a hip hop group simultaneously drawing inspiration from old school (or just socially conscious) hip hop, industrial, noisecore and shoegazer. Not for the faint of heart, Dalek's sound is uncompromisingly dark and uncomparably different. In a day in age where the biggest names in hip hop are bling happy caricatures who associate with labels, money, and inane rehashing of ghetto life / war stories, Dalek is a refreshing breath of ill gutter air......

While I'm largely a fan of metal, I have a tendency to appreciate a good rap/hip hop album from time to time. While I know that rap and hip hop are used interchangeably, I have a tendency to designate hip hop as music that focuses on live instruments or beats construed off of sampling or simulating instruments while I designate rap as music that focuses off of its own synthetic-sounding beats. Hence, I view these guys as a rap group.

I caught wind of these guys when I was reading a metal magazine, but I didn't hear them for the first time until I went to see them perform with RJD2 at a nearby club. With all due respect to RJD2, my attention to the show was lost once Dalek left the stage. I've seen a good share of hip hop/rap shows and always enjoy it for hanging out, but Dalek was mesmerizing live and I decided to give them a few dollars by getting this album. They were supporting Abandoned Language at the time so my friend grabbed that album while I grabbed this one. I lost it after the show but found it while cleaning out my car some time later and decided to give it a spin.

The music's far different than what you'd stereotypically expect to be found on a rap disc. The rapping doesn't try to go for bringing the listener in with a hook; instead it continues on with a full-out lyrical assault song by song until the album's finished. The music is unlike anything else found in hip hop, focusing more on droning beats that are more reminiscent of shoegazer, trance, and post-rock music than it is of other hip hop. That in itself is what drew my interest into the group and after listening to the record, I've begun recommending the group to people who identify themselves as hip hop fans.

I recommend this album for those who are fans of hip hop and searching for a group that really does take a different approach to the genre. I also recommend the album to rock/metal fans, because these guys take such a unique approach to the genre that it can definitely garner the interest of those who aren't considered rap fans.

I'm not a huge fan of hip-hop. I listen to it sometimes, but it's not something I listen to regularly. That said, I love this record. Dalek makes industrial, experimental hip-hop, with heavy, simple, and very catchy beats, very good lyrics with a typical rapper voice, and a wall of noise above the beats. The noise is the interesting part. It's very much derived from industrial music, and can go from simple to quite complex. They also use a turntablist, who spins samples of people talking mostly. Their lyrics focus on social commentary, with very little swearing, usually used where necessary.

Standout tracks include the opener, "Distorted Prose," which has a very interesting electronic sound used between verses, and a catchy bass riff, which is introduced after the line "How the F*** am I gonna shake your hand if we've never been seen as equals?" "Culture for Dollars" is a great track as well, featuring an ambience which includes bagpipes and other folky sounds. The slow, melodic, "Ever Somber" is the third stand-out, with its slow beat and very melodic, yet very noisy ambience.

Overall, this album is fantastic, while it all sounds very similar, it's interesting enough to keep you quite entertained. I'd recommend this to fans of non-commercial hip-hop and fans of experimental rock.

This underground MC & DJ hip hop duo undoubtedly became overpraised due to the unusually experimental, black-tinged production consuming what could have been standard underground rap. Instead we have something far more gritty and artsy than most rap albums ever strive for, but it is an all-consuming aesthetic which sometimes cannot sustain limited talents on display.

It's the very literal version of a nightmare on wax. Oh my diety, this is very much an offensive battle. This is a grind, a hell hole, a smartistic way of putting words together, and most importantly. . .a ride that you want to stay on even though your ticket was acquired by accident. Put some phones on and pretend you were expecting it.