Recently noise, drone, experimentalism, musique concrete and avant-garde composers, and producers, are experiencing a revival. Just look on Bandcamp alone and you will see dozens of new releases every day. Some are are effects pedals and guitars turned up full to create as much noise and distortion as possible, others consist of gloriously intricate pieces that sound like a machine Heath Robinson would have created, others. One such release is the debut album from Dole Fam.
Shiny Cosmic Rainbow Punx, is 35 minutes of wonky loops, atonal synths, discombobulating drones and cut up vocals that when combined create a feeling of disturbing bafflement. The standout moments are the three ‘Klassikal Musik’ tracks. Here Dole Fam shows a deft touch and creates something that sounds timeless, as well as completely contemporary. As the loops swirl from the speakers like glittery maelstroms you transported to another place where Dadaism is the norm.
At times Shiny Cosmic Rainbow Punx is reminiscent of Vangelis’ 1972 album Fais que ton rêve soit plus long que la nuit, which was recorded during the 1968 Paris Riots. On this album Vangelis went out into streets armed with a tape recorder and microphone, then took it home and created these lavish and bewildering sound collages with his synths underpinning the noise and confusion. Instead of using sounds of a riot/protest Dole Fam recorded a church sermon, this year’s Pride parade and other field recordings to create sound collages incorporating synth loops, drum machines and guitars to create a lurid and lucid version of reality. At times it is incoherent and confusing, but so can life be. What Dole Fam has done incredibly well is recreate the feeling of being adrift and not knowing how to get back. And this is where things get murky. At times Dole Fam just bombards you with contrasting sounds and ephemera until you aren’t sure what’s going on, but then cuts it all away to reveal the overall point. Sometimes this works incredibly well, (‘Klassikal Musik #1’), and others not so much, (‘Gays on Parade‘).
This is an album that requires time to get to the bottom of what it’s about, and at times it isn’t quite sure itself, other than trying to create a feeling of mania, but when you do crack its warped and skewed world view it is full with clever ideas and inventive melodies. Despite how Dole Fam tries to dress it up.
Shiny Cosmic Rainbow Punx!!! is out now on Every Man His Own Football.
