Ressurrecting Musical Spirits DCD - Rough Draft

DCD was always a musical seduction.  Like the Sirens, they threw out musical nets that drew you in.

From 1980 to 1998 each new album went on a different journey. In much the same way their music unfolded, each new experience was a strange mask donned over an older one discarded, left to slowly acquire patina in the ether of time's aging rays. Their dynamic story unfolded for an age, then the flame was snuffed out in acrimony, unfinished music, and silence. Their singular voice split.

Lisa Gerrard, the registrar of what would probably be considered one of this eras most haunting voices, went off to master the world of solo artist and soundtrack music, both vocations which had germinated during her time with DCD. There was also collaboration, experimentation and continuation.

Brendan took a few years off to realize his vision for starting The Quivvy School, a place to teach  dying percussion techniques and general drumming instruction but that later doubled as a surce to record new music post-DCD. His first solo foray appeared fairly quickly in 1999, the stunning 'Eye of The Hunter'. Other than a few compilation appearances many years passed before its follow-up, 2010s soaring 'Ark'. After 2005's brief reunion tour promoting the later-era 'Memento' compilation, he maintained what seemed a low profile. While touring for 'Ark' in 2011 with fellow dream-pop and former 4AD label mate Robin Guthrie, he casually mentioned there might be a full-scale DCD reunion in the near future. A real one, to both tour AND record.

Wait...what? New material? Yeah. a whole album.

I never thought it would happen. In 1998 when they first split it seemed another case of people that got too brilliant for one another, weary after so many year creating together, their personal relationship having imploded years earlier. Perhaps they were talented enough without one another? Whatever reason initiated them coming together again, we've all benefited. The 2012 tour was a lovely surprise but the album is also equally radiant. Its clear they still have 'it'. The energy and frisson of their collaborative spirit is still far from diminished. Watching it happen in concert confirmed what I felt seeing them live in 1997. It was a total experience; the way artists of the past made a point of transporting you somewhere else-getting you outside of yourself.

The point was DCD always felt like they were there with you, on the same journey, going to the same places. Could they really pull off that same mojo level in 2012? New material is always tricky for a band with such a devoted following who quit at their peak. Where do they pick up the path? Oddly the new album was not released until after they toured here in the Bay Area, playing a mix of the old stuff with what turned out to be almost all the new record 'Anastasis', the title a reference to the Greek word ανάστασις (anástasis) for resurrection. An appropriate title for a band that hadn't put out a record in 16 years!!

So here we are with a new Dead Can Dance album in 2012!

Initial reactions? This is a gorgeous album-not unlike territory they might have been exploring circa 'The Serpent's Egg' onwards. You could fault them for not doing something radically 'different' but then, nobody ever did what they do the way they do it. There is still no band or artist who manages to command the same feel their music does. 'Anastasis' is as good as anything they've recorded-and the musicianship and singing is excellent throughout. It also holds together well as an album-length statement, something the jarring diversity of their older albums occasionally prevented.

Clocking in at almost an hour allows the long extended instrumental sections and hauntingly hypnotic vocal arrangements to slowly drape through the dark spaces like a hazy gauze that only occasionally catches the light. Fictional characters and complex musical signatures compete to form an intangible energy unlike any other-unless you live on planet Dead Can Dance.  Production is a little thick at times and the glacial heaviness of some of the instrumentation and tempos occasionally verges on the leaden. It certainly has a funerary quality that evokes decay but not so much in the dancing department-grave over groove; a few times I found myself pining for the more frenetic rhythms of past albums.

Eastern flavors and tribal world music flows together on Agape. Like past albums this is another bead of the sacred necklace, disguised as burnt offerings for the ancestral ruminations, rites of passage and spirited persuasion. The diverse mix of guitar, keys and Lisa's familiar yang chi combined with an interesting variety of percussion styles helps unify the album as a whole.

The time passed since their last studio album, 1998s 'Spiritchaser' has obviously brought with it a stronger focus on songwriting in Brendan's case and added instrumental richness in Gerrard's. There is no doubt in my mind this is a joint effort however it doesn't have the overlapping cohesiveness of their past collaborations, or perhaps its the feeling that her vocal contributions are less pyrotechnic than on previous albums? Gerrard's singing-once such a focal point for the band's sound seems more in harmony. Similar to Spiritchaser and the live-ish Toward The Within  before it feel as though the compositions are really fully formed before they get shared. On three tracks, Anabasis, Agape and the stunning 'Kiko' she really steps out to lead the songs. Each is a powerful reminder of the effect her voice has on the listener. Elsewhere her vocals lend subtle color to Children of The Sun. While I certainly prefer Brendan's singing it was always the dual nature of their overlapping voices that provided the most striking of their songwriting efforts and yet only on Return Of The She-King do they really duet. Though billed as a DCD album 'Anastasis' sounds remarkably similar in feel to songs from 'Ark' leading me to believe portions of 'Anastasis' may have overflowed from its production. Brendan acknowledged that both Babylon and the gorgeous Crescent from Ark were originally written with Lisa but later re-worked after that attempt at a reunion fizzled-those two tracks would have made this an even better album but no quibbles. Perhaps this is simply our vantage point into their artistic continuum? In all, despite the above criticisms, this is a very strong return after so many years away. I find myself playing it more often, seeing the connections along their singular path and their slow burn of artistic transformation.

Neither Gerrard or Perry has followed a standard 'rock' career in musical terms. Both singers have retained their startling vocal delivery. While Gerrard has not surprisingly lost some of the very highest part of her range(really only apparent live) her vocal command has improved considerably. Perry retains an amazingly flexible and tender voice yet his baritone still booms with power and sends shivers down my spine. His live imagining of Buckley's 'Song To The Siren' was beyond otherworldly. 2,000+ clamoring fans in the sultry summer Berkeley heat went quiet when he began singing-you could have heard a pin drop. You'd need a paintbrush to describe the attendant show.

Proceeding the album was a live EP containing performances recorded during their 2005 Reunion tour, released digitally, one song at a time in the months leading up to the album's release. While it makes a nice fan curio, as was the case with the "live" albums recorded during the 2005 tour, I wouldn't consider either essential in the band's back catalog.  'Anastasis' on the other hand, like much of the band's best work, is right on target. Ripe for a musical journey, especially if you enjoy getting lost in the future on a new musical past.




Anastasis' Track Listing

1. "Children of the Sun" – 7:33
2. "Anabasis" – 6:50
3. "Agape" – 6:54
4. "Amnesia" – 6:36
5. "Kiko" – 8:01
6. "Opium" – 5:44
7. "Return of the She-King" – 7:51
8. "All in Good Time" – 6:37

Dead Can Dance links

Official: http://www.deadcandance.com/main
Brendan Perry: http://www.brendanperry.com
Lisa Gerrard: http://www.lisage'''''rrard.com
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Can_Dance

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