1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Bring it back...., May 4, 2008
This review is from: Return to Disruption (Audio CD)
Grey Daturas. The name is quite fitting. The datura, a small scrubby plant with large trumpet-shaped flowers, contains narcotic alkaloids that are used as hallucinogens. For a band that proves it's possible to mesmerize listeners through hypnotic sounds, Grey Daturas fulfills this title. Their music is absent of vocals, but rich of whirling psychedelic-rock riffs and a bizarre scope of the most intolerable noise. This is a band that allegedly doesn't practice yet makes way through extensive tours and righteous word-of-mouth. The three Aussies of Grey Daturas exemplify a work ethic other soundscape artists should envy.
Their recent 2008 release Return to Disruption condenses Grey Daturas' improv, explosive sound into a watered-down seven-track album. Is this enough? Return to Disruption broadens Grey Daturas' noisy experimentation. It amplifies sounds of crackling electric surges, squealing frequencies and hissing feedback. "Balance of Convenience" incorporates their familiar psych-drone riffs, crafted drum spasms and abnormal noise arrangements. Their weapons are their instruments, and Return to Disruption definitely verifies that assertion. But don't settle for the comatose feeling songs like "Answered in The Negative" project. Soon it'll be interrupted with disturbing, ear-splintering squeals of what sounds like someone scraping violin strings in a song that's ironically titled "Undisturbed."
Grey Daturas isn't returning with a bang. Return to Disruption is far from prolific. Their 2006 release Dead In The Woods is saturated with complex combinations of grimy, low-end rhythms and dirty, ambient noise. What happened to the explosive southern-influenced "Golden Gate Blues?" Even their 16 minute track on their split with France's doom aficionados, Monarch, is more brutal, explosive and outright powerful than the full 43 minutes of Return to Disruption. Grey Daturas aren't boring. They're just asleep. The Grey Daturas that I know kills with powerful drone, dazing riffs and hissing racket. Return to Disruption certainly doesn't do the reputable Grey Daturas any justice. It's time to wake up.
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