'Psychedelic rock doesn’t need to be heard loud' - isn't what Dead Sea Apes
have said, but that's what everyone's thinking while listening to their debut album Lupus,
which was released on vinyl through Cardinal Fuzz (who also put out the
latest VISION FORTUNE EP on vinyl.) We're not just here to talk about Lupus,
or Cardinal Fuzz - it's all about the men behind the image. Dead Sea Apes are a
Manchester trio who play, psychedelic rock with a blend of krautrock and
post-rock, like their London cousins VISION FORTUNE. They sound like Mogwai, if
Stuart Braithwaite couldn’t say: "Thank you, thanks, cheers".
Dead Sea Apes are purely instrumental, and instead of penning lyrics, they pen
textures. Psychedelic music and post-rock are all about the structure, the
emotional reception, and the eventual Godspeed You! Black Emperor-esque
build-up. Dead Sea Apes do all of this in their sound, something post-rock
bands have been struggling to achieve since the dawn of the 21st century.
It's amazing to see Dead Sea Apes only have 71 views on this upload for
"Astral House" (at the time of linking).The trio actually supported
Damo Suzuki three years ago in Manchester, the same Suzuki from one of the most
influential bands of all time - Can. With "Astral House", you can
really hear that Can // krautrock influence in Dead Sea Apes' sound. It's a
dark twisted sound, but none the less - superb.
Opening with a sweet bass motif by Nick Harris, "Astral House"
takes a leap of faith with that Godspeed You! Black Emperor post-rock sound,
using reverb on guitars and timely progressions to create a riff only
imaginable with dark visions of towers collapsing and bridges breaking. Brett
Savage is simply and slowly picking his guitar, to the sound of Harris' (now
advanced) bass riff and the very atmospheric percussion in the vein of Jaki
Liebezeit, by drummer Chris Hardman. It's not easy being born out of years of
decay and darkness, but Dead Sea Apes most certainly have the ability and
notion to create even soother sounds, and even better build-up's like
"Astral House" in the future.
~Eddie Gibson
