| CD REVIEW (Damn) This Desert Air |
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Band : (Damn) This Desert Air With the little info available to me, I can only guess that this New Jersey based band was formed somewhere in 2007, which is when they self-released their Halo Around The Moon EP. Whence the belief that this conjecture may actually be quite correct? Well, the members that made up the band were all coming from reputed and notable bands with recording experiences [Instruction (were Geffen recording artists), Elemae (Engineer), Nora (Trustkill), Merciana (also Engineer), Ex-Number Five (OneDaySavior), The Fire Still Burns (Blackout!), and No Reward]…in other words, these were musicians experienced in both songwriting and recording, and it is therefore quite logical to think that they went about recording a demo as soon as possible, the knowledge of experience telling them that was also the fastest way to get attention from the business side of music (venue concert and festival organizers, labels). In time the line-up changed somewhat, and 4 members (not sure whén the exchange took place, where they came from, or what happened to ‘em later, but here’s their names: Brandon and James Tsaptsinos, Tim Cuccolo, and John Kohler- the latter, by the way, still contributed to this EP) were replaced to come to the current line-up of singer Craig Cirinelli, guitarists Mike Wolff (the new man in the band, whom also contributed to the track “Made Of Gold”) and Shawn Reams, bassist/ backing singer Alff Bartone, and drummer Ti Kreck. But line-up changes were (luckily) not the only thing that happened to the band, because in 2008 they contributed a track (obviously a cover) to the Failure (Space Rock veterans from the ‘90s) tribute compilation The Nurse Who Loved Me on Pop Up Records, and released a split 7-inch single with Telescreen on Texas’ “Boutique” label Koi Records. The band also contributed to several other compilations, such as the first download compilation on ExplodingInSound.com. With already a foot in the doorstep at Pop Up’s, (D)TDA came in contact with Bastardized in Spring 2009, and after lively internal discussions within the label’s workforce, the decision was made to broaden the label’s usual musical output, and sing (D)TDA to the roster for releases in Europe and the UK (the US would be serviced by Pop Up) in October 2009. By then, the EP was already recorded, with mixing of the material already done by Brian Vitue (of Jane’s Addition, Deftones, 30 Seconds To Mars repute) and mastering by Alan Douches. Now whàt makes (D)TDA so different from the usual Bastardized roster, you ask? Have me describe the band’s sound, will you? Alright, I’ll give it a try. For starters, forget any Grind influences…in fact forget any Extreme Metal elements! Nay, (D)TDA bring a slicker type of Metal, mixing elements from Grunge and Ambient into songs that combine ambience and sedate aggression to perfection. The track “Made Of Gold” sees the band, including the singer, go into its most Ambient mode…a mood which is repeated in the remix of the album opening “Ghost I Own”, showing we may expect the band to occasionally do more of these experiments in live settings. In ideal life, the band would have the complete track-list posted at their MySpace page (www.) myspace.com/damnthisdesertair, but as things are you’ll have to make due with a full-length of “Ghost I Own” (“normal” version) and “teasers” of “Before Sunrise” (contains a sample in the opening, used at very low volume), “Your Atlantis” (arguably the heaviest track on the EP), and “Trembles”, but they’ve kept the 4 songs off the 2007 EP, and their contribution to the Failure tribute on there as well, so there’s enough for you to get acquainted with this fine band! Habitual Bastardized Recordings fans may well want to approach this one with some justified mixed feelings, but when the more open-minded among you allow to let the music sink in for a while (listen to the tracks a couple of times in a row) they will certainly find nice things here. 89/100 Tony. |