Transmission fades in with “Metal Box”, a droning minimalist soundscape that evolves with a steadily building pulse that is brooding, cinematic and a tasty hint of things to come. Icy European synths dominate the sonic pallet of Death In Vegas’s sixth album, with Richard Fearless and new collaborator, the artist, writer and former porn actor Sasha Grey, dumping the restraints of guitars and song structure and laying down some enthralling electronic sounds and grooves that make for quite a trip.
Transmission’s ambience takes the same cues from JG Ballard’s dystopian visions as sonic pioneers like Throbbing Gristle and Sun Electric. Atmospheric minimalist electro and cold spoken vocals rub up against motorik grooves and dirty techno footstompers that will spin minds and much as move hips. Album highlight, “You Disco I Freak”, cuts up Grey's distorted words over an icy Teutonic groove, while the excellent title track even manages to conjure up the ghost of the classic early techno monster “The Age of Love” with a hypnotic groove that invites tripped-out dancefloor madness.
Death In Vegas have been turning out a mash-up of electronica, psychedelia and dub under the direction of Richard Fearless for 20 years and with the help of an eclectic bunch that has included the likes of Paul Weller, Liam Gallagher, Iggy Pop and Dot Allison at various points. Fearless’s sonic journey, however, has undergone an evolutionary change with each album since his Dead Elvis debut, and it had previously looked like it might have reached its apex with 2011’s excellent electronica-dominated Trans-Love Energies. But Transmission is a powerful distillation of Death In Vegas’s essential flavours that will produce a woozy and distorted dreamlike euphoria for just over an hour, and which comes highly recommended.
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