As it happens, one of the most monolithic shoegaze albums was released some 30 years ago; SLOWDIVE‘s haunting magnum opus “Souvlaki” came out in May 1993, and while many a shoegazer has attempted to capture the dark magic of that landmark endeavor over the years, to a varying degree, most have failed. In March 2023, however, a one-man operative force hailing from Oslo, Norway, DOPEDRONE, which is the artistic alias of multi-instrumentalist Martin Anderson, managed to do so; by fusing the sounds of shoegaze, electronica, and stoner-doom on his sixth studio album “The Young and the Dead,” released via (his own independent label, I presume?) Skullflora Records, the music infuses melancholic pop with a dark, mystical aura and, hence, sounds ethereally beautiful and crushing in equal measure.
Right off the first few bars of the opener, “The Magic Place,” the transparent ghost of “Souvlaki” appears to be lingering in the background. A fat chorus and a boutique reverb is a magic combo, by default, but here this pairing is served due justice by the song’s ethereal arrangement. This is exactly the kind of music they should put on in those sense deprivation tanks rather than that New-Agey wallpaper music. It’s one thing to create ambient soundscapes and another thing entirely to create a full-immersion soundscape that really gets under your skin. This dude sure knows how to craft such highly evocative sound paintings.
One of the absolute highlights of the album, “Once Young,” gears up on the electronic flair, mixing programmed beats with some poignant guitar and synth textures that recall the hauntology of electronica artists such as BOARDS OF CANADA and BOLA. Only the robust riffs toward the end of the song give away that this is not some obscure electronica outfit from the archives of the British oddball electronica label, Warp. The song’s coda with its chugging ostinato riffs comes off just as massive as some of Devin Townsend‘s best atmospheric bangers.
After two 7-minute epics, it’s time for a breather; enter the acoustic piece, “Wash Away,” featuring Stian Nordby on acoustic guitar. The guitar chords reverberate upon a plateau of ambient synths and, for me, the vibe is very similar to the chill-out album, “Simplicity Two Thousand,” which was actually released in 1999 by the electronic music producer, Steven Miller, by his artistic alias AFTERLIFE. Coming to think about it, DOPEDRONE’s choice of aesthetic seems to be inherently tinged by a strong vintage aura, that of the 1990s. Then again, I guess shoegaze in its purest form went out of vogue at some point or morphed into other genres such as postrock, blackgaze, and whatnot. This endeavor here is ample proof that there is still a lot of creative juice left in it.
Obviously, this is the kind of music that is best-served justice in the form of lengthy epics. Unsurprisingly, the track to stand out the most is, thus, the longest epic entitled “When Seasons Collide.” Blending ambient, cinematic soundscapes with stoner-heavy guitar riffs, the song is a straight-up masterpiece in dreamy and slow-crushing melancholy. My first impression was something like a lovechild of early BLACK SABBATH and BOARDS OF CANADA.
Slowing down to an almost funeral-doom-like tempo, “Take Your Time,” does just what its title suggests – it takes its time, plunging deep into the sea of beautiful noises. The aesthetic is not a far cry from the experimental electronica of, say, Christian Fennesz or Ryuichi Sakamoto, had they ever experimented with the Gothic-tinged side of the new wave. Then, “Somebody New” touches on the immanent dream pop of, say, COCTEAU TWINS. As a fan commented on the band’s Bandcamp page, this is one of those albums that really deserves the award, ”epic!” As if the diversity of DOPEDRONE‘s approach to the shoegaze aesthetic wasn’t already awe-inspiring, the album closes with “Afterlife,” which is strongly reminiscent of Brian Eno‘s most haunting ambient works. It is nothing short of a pertinent way to bring this sonic journey to a close. Some wise men in Gotham hold that we must throw ourselves in the flames of desire and dance with the dark goddess in the refining fire. This haunting selection of music is an ideal window dressing for such an enterprise.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- The Magic Place
- Once Young
- Wash Away
- Turn
- Blue Skies Ahead
- When Seasons Collide
- Take Your Time
- Somebody New
- Heart Machine
- Afterlife
Lineup
Martin Anderson – guitars, baritone guitars, bass, omnichord, modular synth, synths, vocals, samples, and programming
Jarek Leskiewicz – drums, additional guitars/synths/fx on tracks 2, 6, and 10
Stian Nordby – acoustic guitar on track 3
Label
Skullflora Records
