SPC ECO - Dark Matter (2015)
This release came out about a month ago to no fanfare. Reviews of Dark Matter have been impossible to find online, so with nothing to go on, I have to wing this one. Oh, wait, there are some nice words from fans on the band’s Bandcamp page, so there you go. Dean Garcia and his daughter Rose are frighteningly prolific, often releasing two albums of new material per year. For a time, they tried changing their name, but that thankfully didn’t pan out. Their work is something you can rely on, and I don’t mean that it’s pedestrian. Rather, they continue laying down this engrossing sonic architecture of darkwave and electronica laced with dream pop. Dean is a master of studio trickery and plays a zillion instruments, and Rose has the voice of a dark angel. But they are not creatures of light, not really.
And let’s get the Curve comparisons out of the way – “The Whole World Shines” is hands down my favourite song here, and it stylistically resembles vintage Curve, but Rose sounds nothing like Toni Halliday. So there you have it. Cool tune, with its retro beats and darkly ominous bassline. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves as I have jumped forward to the bottom of the playlist.
“Creep in the Shadows” opens the album, and is marred by the voice synthesiser on Rose’s vocals. It is a pretty song, and I love the other spacey elements, but I can’t get past these synthetic enhancements. “Different Kind” continues this unfortunate trend; I would have much preferred to hear Rose humming over the hypnotic backdrop. “Let it Be Always” is the perfect soundtrack to your nightmare, with that creepy, slow backbeat, and then it shifts into lightness unexpectedly. It reminds me of the sort of sinister electronica that used to dominate TV shows like La Femme Nikita back in the 90s. “Playing Games” is a gem, floating along with found voices deep in the mix to bolster Rose’s gorgeous vocals, and Dean has woven a mesmerizing sonic tapestry. More like this, please! “I Won’t Be Heard” should be a single, and is equally beautiful. “Meteor” veers toward somber dream pop and also appears on their brand new SPC and Time – Vol 2 compilation. I can see myself hitting repeat often on this song. “Down Low” has interesting electronic elements and I really like when the guitar kicks in. “Breathe” dials it back to simpler patterns, letting the music speak for itself without too many complicated layers. “Under My Skin” (also on the aforementioned compilation) is gauzy and magnificent dream pop, and is a fitting end to this release.
( Elizabeth Klisiewicz/PrimalMusic )
Tracklist
1
Creep in the Shadows 4:28
2
Different Kind 5:05
3
Let It Be Always 3:22
4
Playing Games 4:54
5
I Won't Be Heard 4:34
6
Meteor 4:19
7
Down Low 4:51
8
Breathe 4:20
9
The Whole World Shines 6:48
10
Under My Skin 4:05
11
Sling Me Down [bonus track] 4:11
Audio: Sling Me Down
Format : FLAC
Format/Info : Free Lossless Audio Codec
Duration : 4mn 11s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 597 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Stream size : 17.9 MiB (100%)
Writing library : libFLAC 1.3.1 (UTC 2014-11-25)
