The Dead C - New Electric Music (2001)

Even if the Dead C themselves were hardly new when this album came out, the five tracks on it definitely show that the Russell/Morley/Yates trio was far from exhausted when it came to their own method of noise fun. Notably, New Electric Music isn't simply the Dead C just being the Dead C -- if anything, the combination of semi-glitch and extremely low-key feedback murk which starts the album with "Killer" shows that the old dogs can't merely learn new tricks, but that they can find ways to make them their own. Minimally spooked and sounding like a vague threat building outside one's door, "Killer" is one of the most subtle Dead C efforts ever, making the shift to the more familiar clatter/stomp/growl of "Hush" particularly jarring. That track is particularly dazzling, though, a spiraling, scraping guitar solo of some kind unwinding over its length as Yates lays down steady beats perfect for tripping out to, if one so desires. "Repulsion" perfectly balances both a strange, central rhythm of hums, drones, and what sounds like an occasional drum hit with everything from cymbal clashes to chopped-up and fiddled-with vocal samples -- call it the Dead C interprets Main, a worthy concept realized quite well. "Stand" is comparatively easygoing all around, not quite a lazy blues jam but perhaps a kissing cousin to same, even when the volume level perks up a bit about three minutes in. "Forever" both concludes the album and takes up nearly half of it at a little over half an hour in length. Making use of a clipped guitar feedback burst sample that's at once powerful and actually a little amusing at the same time, the three work around that as a core rhythm, with a slew of improvisations and backing electronic moans that's quite entrancing.