Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dark and Heavy, February 14, 2005
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.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Startling and well executed avant-hip hop., April 8, 2005
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.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Culture for Dollars, September 21, 2005
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.
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