Review: Dead Sea Apes - Sixth Side Of The Pentagon

Regular readers of this blog will need no introduction to Dead Sea Apes - a band who have appeared on a regular basis and, indeed, always feature highly in the end of year rundown (Their 'High Evolutionary' album got the Dayz of Purple and Orange album of the year in 2014 - an accolade on par with the Pulitzer, Nobel and Rear of the Year awards.) They are, without doubt, one of my very favourite bands and so when a new album drops (again via the venerable Cardinal Fuzz and Sky Lantern labels) there is always a modicum of trepidation.....is it gonna meet my expectations?...will I love it as I have loved the others? Well, yes and yes! 'Sixth Side Of The Pentagon' is built around the same titled track which appeared on their 'Spectral Domain' album, using it as a seed for a decidedly more experimental outing, one which sees them push boundaries, both musically and intellectually to create what will be one of the most important albums of the year....an album which wears it's agenda proudly and is not afraid to set out the band's political and social view. It is a work that may well be their legacy...and that's not to take anything away from their sublime back catalogue...merely a statement to reflect the significance of this release. Those who were lucky enough to see the band live at the Kunst Gallery in Belper last year would have witnessed/heard an eyeopening dystopian monologue from Adam Stone and he also appears on this album, to great effect.

'The Map Is Not The Territory' opens the album with some deep dub..it is not the summery dub of those legends of the genre.....Perry, Tubby etc, but rather the dark, experimental dub of 23 Skidoo. The rumbling bass of Harris creates a sense of bleak despair accentuated by the flashes of electronica throughout. Towards the end the cavernous guitar of Brett Savage makes itself known, echoing around the dub. 'Sixth Side Part I' is the first revisiting of the 'Domain' track..a brief dub vignette. 'Low Resolution' sees the band creating one of those soundscapes that they do so very well, the guitar weaving images whilst Harris lays down another dubby bassline. The track has a distinctly morose feel about it, as though it is in mourning for something; maybe the systematic destruction of peoples' hopes and desires?. Via another 'blink and you will miss it' 'Sixth Side Part II', we reach 'Pale Anxieties'. Laying just behind another dub soundtrack are some hushed, echoey spoken word vocals from Adam Stone, barely discernible but with enough presence, along with the snatches of electronica, to give the track a dystopian, pessimistic vibe. Musically it is reminiscent of 'Red Mecca' era Cabaret Voltaire..the same angularity and punch...a very fine track indeed. 'Nerve Centre' again takes us back to the halcyon days of spiky post-punk before 'Sixth Side part III' comes and goes in a flash of dub and electronica. 'Lo Res' sees the band take us back to their 'Lupus' or 'High Evolutionary' albums with another beautifully realised musical odyssey...the guitar sounding sun- scorched and arid while the bass and drums combine to create another dub background. 'Tentacles (The Machine Rolls On)' is the absolute masterpiece of the album...musically it is a vast, atmospheric epic with more dubby bass forming the background to stark electronic stabs and swathes of otherworldly drones over which Adam Stone creates a fulminating vituperation of modern life. It is a genuinely dystopian world view that reflects the social abyss in which society is falling...a vital and thought provoking tract of music. The last of the 'Sixth Side' vignettes ushers in 'Rectifier', another dub based instrumental which is rich in atmosphere and imagery.

These are monumental times in which we live - the rise of the right and their hateful philosophy, freedom of thought replaced by consensus based of social media 'likes', the incessant 'greed is good' mantra demonstrated by the so called ruling elite and the inequality it produces. What Dead Sea Apes have produced is a damning indictment of this modern world but without polemic and histrionics but rather through imagery and allusion. Musically they have explored these themes through a more dub based approach which has imbued proceedings with a dark and deeply moving feeling. Ably assisted by the inventive and heartfelt missives from Adam Stone, the band have created something erudite, intelligent and, as I mentioned earlier, important. This is, without doubt, a triumph of an album that deserves all the plaudits it will no doubt receive, and for me, it is a stunning confirmation of why I love this band. 'Sixth Side Of The Pentagon' is released on vinyl (an edition of 500 LPs with some 150 on blood red translucent vinyl) and CD by Cardinal Fuzz in the UK and Sky Lantern Records in the US