Its always nice to hear new music from new artists, and considering the very slow year we had so far, a totally new psychedelic CD from people we heard nothing from up till now is an event worth a few words. Diablo are Avichen Livne and Benny Risher from the north of Israel and what they do is worth a listen in a big way. This debut album is the product of two people who know exactly what they want their music to sound like- melodic, psychedelic, slow to evolve and very groovy. The low and bouncy bass line is king in Diablo's domain and rules from the first few bars of Hop she Goes (T1) that has already made it's way to BNE's Space Mantra compilation, a bouncy, low key opener.
My Parent's Door (T2) continues the groove adding a few mild synth lines which opens the ears to track T3- We Are all Monkeys- my favorite track here- massive groove, nice scratch lines, cool little melodies and samples from 12 Monkeys and wonderfully timed beat breaks and entrances.
Sound Of Silence (T4) is another scratchy tune with a dramatic motif in the form of a lot of electro effects on top of a shuffled drum line and deep synth pads. The melody towards the end sorta reminds me of old MFG stuff. Nice.
Insufficient Memory (T5) is a nice optimistic number in a very Infected Mushroom sorta way and Past (T6) is a nice optimistic number with hints of Oforia in groove and melody, note especially the chord transpositions towards the end of the track.
Tracks 7 and 8 (The D Science and Nine Ways) continue going down the Infected road, morning tunes full of scratches and zippers combined with little mellow melodies. The closing track, Download, is a bit of an anti climax, with nice effects and an evolving melody but it somehow misses the point for me.
Overall, this is a good debut album, with a very tight sound and a common background that is plain to hear in all of the tracks here. Diablo's music is not your run of the mill full on party anthems, no massive build ups, wild guitar riffs or psycho synth lines, instead you hear careful parts layering, well timed breaks and great attention to details. As one of my friends said, this album does what it does in a subtle way, slowly gaining momentum and is never karahanisty for the sake of karahana alone. I'm sure we will hear of Diablo again, and the sooner the better cause these guys know what they are doing. |
