Published on Jan 11, 1998
I am not a big fan of music in the electronic genre – nothing
against it, but it’s just not my style. Still, I try to keep an
open ear and mind when I receive an album of this style in the
mail, and I occasionally have found an electronic album I
enjoy.
I can’t, however, say this is the case with Download. Their
third album, appropriately titled
III, is an experiment gone terribly wrong created by people
who should know better.
Download is a collaboration between cEvin Key, who co-founded
Skinny Puppy, Philth and Anthony Valcic, who counts work with
Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails among his credits. Since their
first album came out in 1996, they have been earning quite a bit of
critical praise and buzz in the industry.
But on
III, the usual definition of electronic music is thrown out
the window; the key word here, instead, is minimalism. Their
on-line bio calls this “sound sculpture”… I call it boring.
And it’s not my previously admitted indifference to electronica
that puts me off this album – it’s that there is really no
substance to these songs. It gets so bad that I can’t tell when
guest musicians Peggy Lee (no, not of “Lady And The Tramp” fame)
and J. Vizvary add their contributions. From the lead-off track
“Toooly Hoof,”
III maintains a cacophany of near silence. Even an
introduction of some bass levels would have been an
improvement.
Although one or two tracks like “Flight Of Luminous Insects” and
“Cunning” do occasionally peak some small amount of interest, the
remainder of
III is incredibly difficult to listen to. The minimalist
textures make it difficult for me to imagine any of the tracks here
being remixed for the dance floor.
So what happened here? A big clue can be found on their on-line
bio in the statement that defines electronica: “Evolve or die.” In
one sense, you do have to admire Key and company for trying to
break out of the busy-sounding noise that makes up some electronica
today. But I do believe he took it too far. He only needed to turn
the volume down a couple notches, not camp on the “mute”
button.
Maybe had I followed Skinny Puppy closer, Key’s evolution to the
sound on
III would be more understsandable. But this is definitely
not the album you’d want to select if you were looking to get into
electronic music. My advice: press the “cancel” button on this
Download.