#9: Kayo Dot - 'Plastic House On Base of Sky'
Hear the track titled "Magnetism" It helps to know what you are getting into with Kayo Dot's latest, 'Plastic House On Base of Sky', because this doesn't sound like any other Kayo Dot album, nor any other album in particular. Kayo Dot, if anything, was more known for prog-rock and mathy metal meanderings peppered with other styles on songs to break up the monotony of a heavy metal onslaught, which some have appreciated over the years. Things could get weird, things could get heavy, things could get screamy, things could sound pretty. So they would have a bit of variety on each album for the most part, but on the last one 'Coffins On Io', they hinted at some new directions, one of which was a synth heavy almost new wave sound. Well on 'Plastic House', Toby Driver and crew have meandered down that singular path and have created a whole album of that type of material. And it works, for the most part. But the twist here is that at times, the combination of prog rock and new wave ends up sounding like a slightly more advanced version of 80s Rush, but with new wave vocals. It is this strange hybrid that propels the album. There are plenty of lush analog synthesizers, and layers of other more traditional stringed instrumentation. The drums sound almost like a drum machine, or midi kit of some kind, perhaps even of 80s origin. But whatever he did, he made a whole new aesthetic that sounds very familiar but never quite as high reaching as some of the moments of 'Base of Sky'. This album shows that a band with an ever growing discography can still reinvent themselves. It also makes one wonder if they will continue this more "refined and sensual" approach, as the band puts it, or perhaps continue down a path of a more myopic vision with less variety and more focus on the overall aesthetic of one album. With this release, the band proves that they are unpredictable, so who knows what will be their next creative endeavor. At this time, it appears that they will be touring this year. I must say, I was thinking I wasn't going to like this album as much as I did. What really put it over the top is the production sounds amazing and envelopes one in beautiful washes of sound. And the album grows on you over time, so by the time I wrote this, I ended up liking it quite a bit! Temporal anomalies aside, the only drawback of this album is that it kind of wimpers out at the end, the second to last track dragging a bit (albeit still a great track) into the final track which is more tame and somber than the rest of the album. It does feel more like some of Kayo Dot's past work, more on the sorrowful and less metal side, even though it is still heavy material, it may not be listened to as the first 3 or 4 tracks. What is at surface value an album with lengthy songs ends up being only 5 tracks, but there is a lot of great material here which fits onto a vinyl pressing nicely (got it in the mail the other day, sounds killer). If you like visionary, great sounding production, and future-retro stylings, you must check this out. It feels both forward thinking and nostalgic and is if nothing else a unique hybrid of genres that most would not think of how to stitch together, but by having an encyclopedic knowledge of music, Toby Driver has become quite proficient at songwriting over the years. It is getting harder and harder to decide which album is better at this point, it is all subjective and of course what you want to hear the most at the time. This album in particular seems to work on multiple levels, great headphone listen but also sounds great in an open room and could be an attention getter for a lot of different types of people. There are some weird beats here, however, so I suppose that might drive some away; and perhaps some long time fans might be yawning at this material, but who knows. It just proves that this project can be taken in just about any direction and still be a bit futuristic and ahead of the pack in so many different ways. Kayo Dot website
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AuthorG.M. Bowles Archives
February 2017
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