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Double
Echo
Double Echo Vol.1
This
compilation (released by Ritual Tapes) on cassette are the sum of
Double Echo's singles and unreleased work over the past few
years. Upon first listen the songs are indeed very different from one
other, but I have the utmost respect for any band that could pull
such different colored rabbits out of a single hat. This duo is
comprised of Chris Luna and Ash Lerczak hailing from both Liverpool
and San Diego who manage to collaborate from across the ocean to
create this great project.
Without
Ceremony has a minimal drum percussion intro with an entrancing
thick bass chorus line to introduce and seduce the listener to this
album. The vocal delivery is low on Black Morning but this
seems intentional to compliment the minimal drum beats, this might
suggest that this was an early track as this delivery is not repeated
again on the album.
The
third track Life Inside is a fun Goth rock romp to dance to
for sure. It reminds me of Batzz in the Belfry with 80's style drums
and Faith era Simon Gallup on bass. Following this track is
Rupture featuring beautiful (and sadly the only) female ethereal
vocals to accompany the ghostly atmosphere; VERY different from the
previous tracks but pleasantly refreshing for viewing the band from a
different angle. Double Echo can write very catchy bass
line hooks, demonstrated strongly in such songs as Sylvia and
Black House. The last track Then Again on side A, is
probably my personal favorite with a catchy bass line as funky as
Bowie if he had a romantic rendezvous with Suspiria.
Side
B kicks off with Darkroom, a
fast pace brilliant recharging of the ears with dreamy guitar work;
easily a dance floor hit! Plain Sight keeps
the dance fever flowing with it's hypnotizing bass and locomotive
drum kick. Eve and the Apple
is a bit strange because it stands out so much from the other tracks,
like a dream pop song; it's fun, bright and dance friendliness
juxtaposed with dark brooding vocals makes for an excellent
experiment gone right! Desertion has
great seduction skills for pulling people to the dance floor, again
the bass is hypnotizing! Finally the last track Ephemerol
gives an outro of chilling drums
to permeate the night air of an eerie ending.
All in
all, the mixture of cold wave, Gothic rock and ethereal wave prove
very interesting. Considering it's a compilation, there wouldn't
necessarily be a single message for the listener, but the culmination
of these tracks gives great insight into the bands eclectic style.
Perhaps the message being sent is “We play great music in many
styles.” which would be quite fair and correct.
> by Detra