DIVE - Snakedressed

Songs: 10  Time: 40:23

On his fifth full length studio album as Dive, Dirk Ivens recruited Ivan Iusco (of Nightmare Lodge) to accompany him on 6 of the 10 tracks.  Being that I’m not as familiar with Dive as I probably should be, I cannot compare Snakedressed with his previous releases.  What I can do is highly recommend his new album to any fan of electro as well as those who are swept away by structured noise.  Snakedressed is a 50/50 mix between these two styles of music, playing off as danceable noise, or noisy electro (whichever term you prefer.)  This CD is not near as harsh as I expected it be, but rather a solid release full of dancefloor potential, with an abrasive edge.  Elements of Suicide Commando can be found throughout the title track (or is that, elements of Dive can be found throughout Suicide Commando?)  Raw, clamorous beats, gritty vocals, and a staticy rhythm line all come together to form an grating electro piece that whales out of the speakers with tremendous force.  Twisted machine gun like beats and gravely vocals drive Machinegun Baby.  Other elements that twist there way in and out of this track include a low end bass beat and various computer bleeps.  Wheeping in the Dark has a somber feel to it, with whispered vocals, spacey sequences and trotting beat.  This is one of the tracks that fits more into the electro category than the experimental noise category.  Bloodshot Eyes sounds like noisy 80’s electro.  The beats are mid-paced (with the ‘clap’ sound used quite a lot) and the sequences are a bit dated and repetitive.  This is really the only unimpressive track of the bunch.  Another strict electro track is Dark Room.  The untreated vocals are predominant force throughout the track, with a thumping beat and circuitry pulse sequences acting as a support.  Snakedressed finishes off with Sufferhead, a full throttle electronically driven piece with a rigid rhythm line and scratchy vocals.  Snakedressed is a fantastic album and if his previous releases are anything like this, I’ll be sure to check them out.
 
COP   (liscensed from Daft)     Dive is:
981 Aileen St.                              Dirk Ivens & Ivan Iusco
Oakland, CA 94608                    Dive homepage:
COP homepage:                        http://bewoner.dma.be/wattie
http://www.copint.com