Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

The Capital Stereo Conspiracy

Half-life / The Catch Sequence

Label:

kdornan by Kate Dornan July 11th, 2002

Point one: real cellos. A scratchy vinyl recording of real cellos being ricocheted around a canyon at night, if the opening minute is anything to go by. The thing about starting with a sound like underwater depth-sounders getting their hearts broken is that you have to go somewhere with it, and fortunately at this point we do get some singing. Could be a little more tender, perhaps, to provide some contrast with the backing, but distantly sinister and mental will do too. At this point I glance at the CD player and am somewhat surprised to learn we're four minutes in. Wait, the cellos are back, sounding a bit more lost and plaintive now. Fittingly, since that's the end...

The next track is an ominous 7:32 minutes and it starts with some pretty Satie-esque piano which unfortunately is being trampled on somewhat by a massive bass loop, and might not show up at all if I wasn't wearing headphones. Like that 'surfing' Guinness advert crossed with "The Piano", it is. There's a certain relentless quality to this, but I never quite make my mind up whether it succeeds in the category of 'instrumentals you can get lost in'. Circular can be good, but I tend to prefer it more... drifty... TCSC are an odd mix of hefty electronic dance sounds with diffident beats, a hybrid of music to move to and music to sit still and listen to that doesn't quite turn out as either. It sounds, actually, somewhat like a multimedia concept piece (!) I saw done by the London Sinfonietta the other month: haltingly eloquent and strangely autistic at the same time...

And then there's five random seconds of flatline.

You'll need to make up your own mind: just ask.

  • 7
    Kate Dornan's Score
Log-in to rate this record out of 10
Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


LATEST


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees


  • A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash


  • Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019



Left-arrow

Cody

Uplift

Mobback

The Vines at Camden Electric Ballroom, Camden, Thu 19 Feb

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141
  • news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139

    Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138
  • Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137

    Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136
  • Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135

    Festival Review


    25 years of SPOT Festival: DiS Picks Its Best 11

  • 106134
  • Festival Review


    Twelve Hours Of Drone Is Just The Beginning: Di...

  • 106133
MORE


GREATEST HITS

    DiSband


    DiSband #7: Viva Brother

  • 77972
  • news


    DiS Launches New Radio Show

  • 104154

    Column


    DiS Does Singles: Best of 2013 so far

  • 91154
  • feature


    DiS meets Justice

  • 27270

    review


    Daft Punk - Discovery

  • 282
  • feature


    Drowned in Sound's 50 albums of 2008

  • 44086

    review


    Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence

  • 95999
  • review


    Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions

  • 55003
MORE

Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2021 DROWNED IN SOUND