Wolf Eyes "Dead Hills" CD (Troubleman Unlimited)
A friend recently gave me a burned copy of this, and I felt like I had to revisit it, being that it was one of my girlfriend at the time's favorite albums when I was 16. Wolf Eyes basically represent everything I dislike about this kind of music, and why I resent it's proliferation in "cool person"/hipster culture, but on the other hand, the core lineup of Dilloway/Olson/Young/Connelly has it's merits, musically anyway. Like a rock band, they manage to have a specific, organized, and unique style where each member's contributions are obvious and identifiable. Dilloway obviously doing the tape work and more abstract noises, Young responsible for the quieter parts, effects ("signature" reverb sound), etc., and Olson doing some of the more organized electronics and as far as I know, voice work. Well, honestly, all these elements in combination do a lot less for me than especially Dilloway and Young's solo efforts - my reaction is "why combine these with no point other than to do so?" They sound just fine on their own, without the need to make an entertaining piece together. Of course, that's my other gripe with Wolf Eyes - "entertaining" music that seems pointless other than to be "fun." Hell, I'd say that there doesn't appear to be any theme or concept for any of their work at all, which is just not appealing to me. I don't really understand when people find anything dark, threatening, or challenging in their sound; to me, it's distinctly just a few guys trying to be weird/funny. I like the idea of band-format experimental music with a recognizable sound, but you need a concept, too; not just the desire to have fun and do something. The party/headbanging vibe is something I can do without, too. Except for the vocals which annoy the hell out of me, this is their better work - restrained compositions, nice effects, nice "beat" sections, hell, even a sense of atmosphere, especially on the first track. Too bad there's not much else.
