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Have you ever wondered what it would sound like if Thurston Moore and Wayne Coyne had a rapturous alien love child, that saves all humanity from the zombie-robot apocalypse? Well, wonder no longer, because that said love child is here and it are alive and well, and it goes by the name of Ringo Deathstarr.
God’s Dream marks the sixth release from the Austin, Texas trio. In addition to the CD release (which comes out today), RD will also be releasing a swanky 100 copies of colorized vinyl of the record, available through Neon Sigh and Noyes Records. The colorized vinyls will be hand-numbered and pressed in a mint/magenta split color. An additional 400 records will be pressed in a transparent coke bottle coloring.
God’s Dream is the perfect departure from RD’s 2012 release Mauve. Where Mauve was latent with aggressive guitars, heart thumping drum lines, God’s Dream supplies us with haunting ghostly guitar hooks and drawn out sympathies. God’s Dream is chocked full of distortion and fuzz and is absent of vocals. The vocals are there but they're more like an accent. They are the barrel aged Grappa which accompanies the bacon gelato. The vocals are just there not taking away or adding to the gelato (the music). From the opening track, the ghosty dreamscape that is “Bong Load,” you can tell you are in for a wild ride. You could listen to this record and play ‘name that influence,’ it’d be easy. There’s some Sonic Youth in there, some Flaming Lips (during their psychedelic punk phase), some My Bloody Valentine, and there’s also some Smashing Pumpkins, especially on the songs “Chainsaw” and “Nowhere.”
Instead, let’s talk about what this record is not. This record is not generic, it is not choiceless, and it is not fruitless. God’s Dream is everything that is right with music, and America for that matter. It is genuine. This record screams at you ‘Hello, we are Ringo Deathstarr, this is who we are.’ RD made very deliberate choices on this record as well. You want vocals? Too fucking bad! Go fuck yourself! You want vocals, go make your own record! This is our record! This is our art! This is the kind of record that compels awkward teenagers to pick up guitars.
The real gem on God’s Dream is the face melting “Flower Power.” “Flower Power” stays true to the shoegaze fashion bu starting with an ambitious, energetic, and distorted crescendo guitar riff that builds until your head feels like it’s going to explode. Just when you think you cannot take anymore, they hit us with a sweet, sweet interlude that transports us into a dreamscape wonderland (this is where you find your power animal). By the time you realize that you are listening to the same song, your face has completely melted off your skull piece.
“Flower Power” comes across as two songs in one, something that isn’t inconceivable or unacceptable in the shoegaze genre. Shoegaze is essentially a licence to kill, you get to do whatever the fuck you want and ask for forgiveness later. The real truth is that either you can pull it off or you can’t, and well Ringo Deathstarr pulls it off, and how!
Grade: A
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