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Drahk Von Trip - Is Us (Demo EP)

Drahk Von Trip - Is Us (Demo EP)
Released: 2003
Label: Record Heaven
Cat. No.: n/a
Total Time: 25:46

Reviewed by: Duncan N Glenday, March 2005
There's every reason I should not enjoy Drahk Von Trip's little EP, yet I can't help it - it's really quite nice!

Here's why I shouldn't like it: It's a demo, and I don't do demos - give me an album or a genuine EP, but not a demo! The production quality is about 2 steps above that of a garage band. This demo arrived on a CD-R with no cover art, no lyrics and almost no band information. And it's another 1960s psychedelic rock throwback - and we've seen so many of those recently.

On the other hand, here are the mitigating points: It's damned cool! And given that it's just a demo, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that the final album - due in April 2005 - will be somewhat better produced and packaged.

Is Us is a 26-minute 4-song EP played by a 6-piece Swedish band on the same label as Skyron Orchestra - also from southern Sweden and with essentially the same vocals. The music is probably better than their stablemates, though - psychedelic, slightly trippy rock with a dark edge to it, that gets into a groove and just rocks on and on and you can't help bobbing along with it. The instrumentation is your standard rock lineup but there are two guitars, flutes, didgeridoos and plenty of keys to add texture. The song structures are simple but effective - you won't find anything terribly new or progressive, but you will be treated to long, pleasing mini-epics that revolve around simple repetitive themes. No single song stands out - think of it rather as an extended piece of somewhat homogeneous music with a rich mix of muted instrumentation grooving along to a consistent rhythm with subtle arrangements and dark vocals driving it along.

But the most memorable aspect of this music is the singing. It isn't too upfront - and allows the instruments to shine through for long passages - but the husky low-range style recalls a more melodic version of Grace Slick. The lyrics are in English and although we couldn't make out every word, they appear to blend into the music nicely and no strong accent is noticeable.

There's a common abbreviation in chatrooms and discussion boards that goes "YMMV," which means "Your Mileage May Vary" - or you may not get the same out of this CD as I did. Because it's just a demo, this one gets a mediocre rating. As long as the final album isn't essentially the same song played again and again, I'll predict that it will score very well. But - of course - YMMV!

Rating 3.25 / 5

More about Is Us (Demo EP):

Track Listing: One Of A Kind / Ode To A Goddess / Man’s World / In A World Of Trouble

Musicians:
Micke
Susanne
Ralph
Lurblascare
Mats
Goran

Contact:

Website: www.recordheaven.net
Note: will open new browser window

Discography

Is Us (2003) (demo)

	Drahk Von Trip - Is Us (Demo EP)
	Released: 2003 Label: Record Heaven Cat. No.: n/a Total Time: 25:46
	Reviewed by: Duncan N Glenday, March 2005 There's every reason I should not enjoy Drahk Von Trip's little EP, yet I can't help it - it's really quite nice! Here's why I shouldn't like it: It's a demo, and I don't do demos - give me an album or a genuine EP, but not a demo! The production quality is about 2 steps above that of a garage band. This demo arrived on a CD-R with no cover art, no lyrics and almost no band information. And it's another 1960s psychedelic rock throwback - and we've seen so many of those recently. On the other hand, here are the mitigating points: It's damned cool! And given that it's just a demo, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that the final album - due in April 2005 - will be somewhat better produced and packaged. Is Us is a 26-minute 4-song EP played by a 6-piece Swedish band on the same label as Skyron Orchestra - also from southern Sweden and with essentially the same vocals. The music is probably better than their stablemates, though - psychedelic, slightly trippy rock with a dark edge to it, that gets into a groove and just rocks on and on and you can't help bobbing along with it. The instrumentation is your standard rock lineup but there are two guitars, flutes, didgeridoos and plenty of keys to add texture. The song structures are simple but effective - you won't find anything terribly new or progressive, but you will be treated to long, pleasing mini-epics that revolve around simple repetitive themes. No single song stands out - think of it rather as an extended piece of somewhat homogeneous music with a rich mix of muted instrumentation grooving along to a consistent rhythm with subtle arrangements and dark vocals driving it along. But the most memorable aspect of this music is the singing. It isn't too upfront - and allows the instruments to shine through for long passages - but the husky low-range style recalls a more melodic version of Grace Slick. The lyrics are in English and although we couldn't make out every word, they appear to blend into the music nicely and no strong accent is noticeable. There's a common abbreviation in chatrooms and discussion boards that goes "YMMV," which means "Your Mileage May Vary" - or you may not get the same out of this CD as I did. Because it's just a demo, this one gets a mediocre rating. As long as the final album isn't essentially the same song played again and again, I'll predict that it will score very well. But - of course - YMMV! Rating 3.25 / 5 More about Is Us (Demo EP): Track Listing: One Of A Kind / Ode To A Goddess / Man’s World / In A World Of Trouble Musicians: Micke Susanne Ralph Lurblascare Mats Goran Contact: Website: www.recordheaven.net Note: will open new browser window Discography Is Us (2003) (demo)