Dresda - Perquod (Marsiglia Records)
Despite the Germanic-sounding name, Dresda hail from Italy. This
proved to be a problem for me when trying to obtain any information
about the band but with help from Google's language tools I've managed
to mine the essentials. Dresda have been going for about 2 years and
the CD Perquod is their first
fully fledged release. Perquod is out on, the seemingly prolific,
Marsiglia Records and can be downloaded for free or bought at this
location http://www.marsigliarecords.it/m030.php
From the very first
listen of Perquod I was struck by the diversity present within the 5
tracks. Ranging from the dark-Jazz sound of 'Citta di Vetro' to the
relaxed Godspeed You! Black Emperor vibe of closing track 'Attraverso
Lenti Colorate', Dresda manage to create a massive range of sounds with
a unifying feeling creating a backbone for the experimentation.
'Citta
di Vetro' is a highlight of the album for me; a melancholy chord
progression presents itself from sheets of ambient sound and is
elaborated upon by the tasteful piano line and minimal bass playing. It
immediately brought to mind a more expansive Bohren und der Club of
Gore then blended into a build up that keeps you on your toes and
builds expectation before suddenly fading out. It's moments like this
that set Dresda apart from the whole hosts of new post-rock bands that
are emerging; they don't fit their songs around a particular formula
and aren't afraid to keep the listener guessing. Although the influence
of some big post-rock names is evident in Dresda's music, they don't
simply replicate the sound of their influences, they use their
influence as a starting point and take their music in other more interesting
directions.
Dresda have created an album album that sounds
vast, melodic, lush and professional. Dresda are definitely a band to
watch and a band I'd pick over a whole host of bands that are
attempting to do a similar thing.
http://www.myspace.com/wearedresda
Reviewed by Adam Zejma