Black Dice

Item: Beaches and Canyons
Author: BW Diederich

Beaches and Canyons

(2002)

Reviewed by BW Diederich

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Label DFA RecordsDecapolisOctober 2002

experimental noise rock

Beaches and Canyons is Black Dice's newest full length. It's out on DFA Records. They're a noise band from, of all places, Providence, Rhode Island.

Abstract noise is a tricky genre all around. It's pointless to name artists because there's not a single noise musician who's a household name and sub-genre names within noise are even more convoluted than indie rock. All that to say, I'm handicapped with this review because (and this is an assumption) not many of the readers of Decapolis are familiar with many if any noise artists. I'll go ahead and use some genre names, but just ignore them if they mean absolutely nothing to you. Black Dice started out as an organic harsh noise outfit, taking from both abstract noise a la Merzbow's violence and hardcore/metal influenced insanity a la The Locust or Lightning Bolt. Their live show was notorious for always involving blood and injuries, but that was pretty much all they had going for them. Black Dice wised up to the fact they were being regarded more for kitsch value than for an artistic statement of sorts and revised their sound completely. Psychedelic noise was the new aim. They released some 7"s and played around a bit, but never figured it out until now. With Beaches and Canyons they truly come into their own.

Let's start with the cover. Think of it as a handy guide for dismantling the record and the cacophony of sounds from human throats and hands. A dense mass of repeated psychedelic images and a lone female figure on a sunset lit beach tip their hand so to speak and reveal the nature imagery all over the record. The overriding theme is the great outdoors, bird sounds, the tide and the like. In fact, there are many parts that would be perfect for a nature show on Discovery, albeit with random bursts of rapid-fire drumming and human moans/squeals. Don't expect singing (Please! Don't expect singing), and don't expect standard guitar sounds for that matter. I'll repeat this till you're sick of me and this phrase, "This record is a noise record." It's important to understand that when I talk of their flirting with melody and the balance of pop and noise, I don't mean the Beach Boys. For this review, take "pop" to mean recognizable structure and melody.

There are five tracks and each one is longer than the one before it. "Seabird" stays true to its name starting with staccato bleeps resembling bird calls and a bubbling synth fading in and out. Roughly halfway through, the synth gurgles and bird chirps are met with insistent, droning drumming and random guitar swells. "Things Will Never be the Same" is the first of two tracks to use the ocean's rhythmic tides as a base. The first seven minutes are a calm affair with choral sounding swells and static-filled feedback floating in and out on the ambient "tide". A heavily mutated human voice is buried someplace beneath it all and slowly the beach fades and the only thing you can hear are tribal drums and a droning static. Two tracks down and so far so good. Midway through "Things Will Never be the Same" though, I get the feeling the old, raucous Black Dice is itching to get out. The first two tracks could actually be accused of dragging a bit. Beautiful as they may be, one could definitely argue the tide motif overstays its welcome around the 5 minute mark of "Things Will Never be the Same."

"The Dream is Going Down" is the first harsh track on the album. It's a marked change from the first two songs with its treble-y squeals and the moaning human voices. The 11 minutes don't really stray too far from the first minute or so of the track. The only change is a gradual coming together of chaos. The noise and squall gel near the end showcasing some of the melodic tendencies about to overwhelm you on "Endless Happiness." Black Dice completely change pace yet again on track four for a beautiful romp through ethereal percussion and layered wooden flute meanderings. 5 or so minutes into the song, the chimes and flutes are joined by adept drumming and yes, again, synth swells only to fade away completely for 5 minutes of tide noises again. This time however it's the real ocean at work. This would probably be the most trying part of the entire album. Five minutes of an untouched recording of the beach might be a bit much for most people, but in the context of the song and the album, it works for me.

If you can't tell they run a tight ship here in Black Dice land. Three of the tracks follow a general formula, albeit one that serves them well. Start slow and end with synth swells and tribal drums. The genius, (dare I say genius?) is in how they manage to disguise the formula so well. It doesn't sound all same-y, like some noise records. There are hints of melody and rhythm in each song, but it is still, fundamentally (here, I go again), a noise record. Noise takes patience just like any abstract art form. You can't pop this cd in and "jam" to it. You have to let it appear to you in a vague phenomenological way.

But let us get back to the music. The last track is the opus and in my mind marries their past with their future perfectly. "The Big Drop" starts out with drums and what is actually a human making melodic "ooooh" noises. A constant wave of feedback starts early and continues all the way through sounding a bit like a jet engine at times, but not as overpowering. Midway through everything drops out save the feedback, signaling their final attack. The pounding rhythm of the beginning comes back for the last 5 or 6 minutes in full force. Squealing human voices and squealing feedback combine for an almost godspeed you! black emperor like climax, a pounding, droning, moment of pure bliss. Where the old Black Dice would have squealed and beat their drums without any rhythm or grace, this new Black Dice harnesses their energy and chaos into something beautiful and primal which disappears as suddenly as it appeared.

"Beaches and Canyons" isn't a perfect record by any means, but it's a huge step forward for a band that existed based on shock value as opposed to their artistic contributions. I think they do a really great job of mixing the psychedelic noise getting so popular these days with their organic harsh noise past. It's a beautiful mix of "pop" and noise.