Published on Dec 1, 2004
The self-titled debut record by the UK trio of Dirty Vegas was
pure electronica-trance, but without the pain of a whole album
sounding like a 50-odd minute of one monotonous beat-structure
repeating itself, and not going anywhere. The band’s style of
including interesting bits of guitars and hoarse vocals (that’ll
better suit a grunge band) amid the hard-core electronica backdrop
gave their debut record a tasteful appeal that made it stand way
above most other albums of the same genre.
Dirty Vegas’ second effort
One is prominently non-electronica: studio drums have
replaced the bass-ridden heavy beats of trance; real acoustic and
electric guitars have taken over the role of synths; real
bass-lines are played on actual guitars, and not on keyboards; and,
humble orchestral arrangements decorate humble love songs, that
don’t seek to be thrillingly fast-paced. Also, unlike a trance
record, each of the ten numbers on
One has the singer (Steve Smith) singing — that too,
without any synthesizing effects added to his vocals.
So, does this mean disappointment for those of the opinion that
the debut album should’ve had more of the seven-odd synth-spewing
minutes of “Days Go By”? Well, it does — and a really big one.
One has nothing remotely close to “Days Go By.” As a matter
of fact, the band itself, on this album, sounds like real musicians
playing real music instruments, and attempting an attractive pop
record, without intentionally wanting to give it the ‘dance-club’
appeal of their debut effort.
One is an album, more human, and less robotic. The album gets
its zest, not from crazily pounding techno-beats, but from
beautifully interwoven guitars. This is one of the ‘love’ records,
that does not cry or cadge, but is still sensitive. It has
song-titles like “Roses,””Human Love,””Given You Everything” and
“Save Me Now,” and the lovelorn moods of the album sound as piquant
as the happy ones.
The first few seconds of the album (and that of the opener
“Rose”) start off with an enchanting guitar-riff, and build up into
a heavenly song of the most charming guitar-work that a bunch of
DJs (or a bunch of rock musicians) could come up with. This musical
quality is maintained consistently throughout the album.
The first single of the record and one of the album’s best songs
“Walk Into The Sun,” with the solo and the jangling acoustic
guitars, has the semblance of Electronic’s “Get The Message.””Human
Love,” another album standout, has a guitar-arrangement to the
effect that it sounds like a fantastic cover of an unknown U2 song
(from their The Joshua Tree days). The slower, and prominently
orchestra-laden songs “Closer” and “Save Me Now,” sound most unlike
‘Dirty Vegas’: tender emotional love-songs that ex-‘Verve’ front
man Richard Ashcroft would be expected to come up with.
One is a perfect example of irony, when it blesses: a
hard-core techno band churning out a record of near-perfect
guitar-melodies. This shocking change of sound by Dirty Vegas may
loose them a few old fans (expecting another ‘dance-floor’ album by
the band), but will without doubt, earn them many more new
ones.