Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Dada - Sick In Santorini


 #Dada #alternative rock #power pop #neo-psychedelia #progressive pop #1990s

Dada's third (and final)IRS release "El Subliminoso" is their only self-produced effort (to date, anyway). For this 1996 release, the group finally got control of the helm. The dense pile of multiple overdubbed layers on most tracks, the occasional stylistic departures, and the overall extended song lengths of this disc are evidence of the group flexing their studio muscles and letting themselves capture their full vision for the songs without someone else calling the shots or reigning them in. Close study of the results reveals a fascinating set of songs that were labored over for many months - songs that continue to reveal hidden details even after years of listening. Their extensive efforts paid off with the creation of one of the most varied and distinctive discs in an already high-quality catalog. There are plenty of songs that stay firmly within the alt-rock-power-trio-with-harmony-vocals musical territory staked out in their tasty '92 debut "Puzzle" and the sumptuous '94 follow-up "American Highway Flower". These include the soft verses/loud choruses dynamics of "I Get High", "Rise", and the disc opener "Time Is Your Friend", a rumination on mortality's ever-ticking clock. Also somewhat conventional dada-sounding are the rockin' "Sick in Santorini", the scathing rumination on self-centeredness called "Fleecing of America" and one of the disc's highlights, "A Trip with My Dad". This humorous, surrealistic tale of father/son bonding is craftily worded so that you are never quite sure whether this is the recounting of an actual point-A-to-point-B car trip, or whether maybe the two simply climbed in the station wagon, dropped acid in the driveway and never even started the engine.  From: https://www.amazon.com/El-Subliminoso-Dada/product-reviews/B000000QHO/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_paging_btm_next_2?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews&pageNumber=2

Since the release of dada’s groundbreaking 1992 debut Puzzle, the trio has created an array of songs boasting progressive rock musicianship, dazzling vocal harmonies and melodic power pop layered with inspired psychedelic and experimental rock impulses. Adding to the trio’s groundbreaking line of attack are the marathon-length shows that deliver on the promise that every performance is the only one of its kind. From: http://dadaforever.com/