DESTRUKTIVE ACTIONS AFFECT LIVINGS

This second chapter in the Daal saga has some of the same wonderful electronic- drenched creativity found on the debut, but does also follow a more soundtrack-ish route that is not always that successful on first listen, requiring a deeper sense of exploration. . So let's be somewhat original for a change and go straight to the absolute winners here: It all starts quite promisingly after the initial obscure intro by blasting forward with a heavy tune: "Anarchrist" (bold title) is a hard-assed slab of molten synths and propulsive drums, highly forceful and utterly remorseless. The main melody can be perceived as scary, lugubrious and nightmarish with a stubborn woo-woo synthesizer patch that is lethal, like flickering phosphorescent paintballs in the night sky, gigantic mellotron swells blowing hard wind , all conspiring to twirl one's ears sideways and delectably so. The foreboding doomsday qualities verge on psychosis, like a hard psychedelia with heavy metal leanings. Pounding and swooning at the same time. Hmmm! Something even synth guru John Foxx would come up with (that's a colossal compliment by the way). Raw, manic, slightly deranged and frantic, this is pure modern proggy bliss.

"Level 6666" even dares to venture into sitar-laden Eastern swirls, piano clanging, all- encompassing synths and the authoritative drumming all combine to treat the ears like a fine mistress. Serving up sizzling sensations, ethereal covenants with mood and shadow, whilst pruning sonic overkill and staying the course.

"The Dance of the Drastic Navels Part 2" continues the Part1 found on the "Disorganocorigami", a symphonic cacophony with mind-bending rules, extremely dissonant and chaotic, drenched in absolute weirdness and remorseless misdirected confusion. The lysergic qualities can be scary and frightening to the uninitiated but at least its not overt technical bragging that subverts so many progressive "we want to be cool" releases! A nearly 17 minute magic mushroom carpet ride into the ether! The two-sided "Aglatarium" is in the same vein just jazzier, with a wobbly bass rendering and an unexpected saxophone wail, extremely pleasant and then unchallenged, swerving into dense electronica forever so briefly and then just dying serenely. Darn good! The disc ends with the remarkable "Memories of Old Pictures" a piece showcasing the deep progressive roots of the RPI school, ornate elegance, piano and flute in loving embrace. A sultry clarinet adds that Italian spice just at the right moment, deeply poetic and achingly distressing. The film noir mood entirely fascinating! The slow paced morphology into a pulsating electro beat is resolute and defining, signaling a sense of sensorial bewilderment and light paranoia.

Some of the less evident tracks are not to be viewed negatively; they are just a tad more experimental and therefore progressing along their natural path. .

"Noises from an Interlude" is exactly that! A slight sense of filler but at least its brief! "Cry-Hologenic" begins oddly with gentle piano and odd vocal sonics, like some outtake from a sci-fi movie, sweeping hushes and trembling percussives, baby crying in the background, hallucinatory thrills, extremely psychotic and bizarre.

The title track and perhaps band moniker (DAAL) prefers another uncanny adventure into experimentation, this time the xylophone being the main vehicle, supported by gale-storm howls and loads of otherworldly effects , mostly of a percussive nature, as Davide seems to be inspired by Jamie Muir (KC's loony percussor) as he slams every object in sight. This momentous clash between modern computerized sounds and tribal trappings is quite unique and ultimately inspiring. Vibrant and far from minimalistic, there is always some kind of mania set loose (zipping Moog loops, solid drum beats and anguished saxophone blurts)

Easily a proper companion of glorious proportions, Daal constitutes the top echelon of the current Italian scene. Do not miss out on the successful tracks; these are snarly rebellious, conservative odd, sonically concise, utterly crafty and ultimately stellar.

4.5 Moodswings

Share this DAAL review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to tszirmay
• Report this review (#881775)
• Buy DAAL music online with PA partners
• Show all DAAL MP3/Stream
• Go to DAAL page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Destruktive Actions Affect Livings page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for DAAL related discussions