Album Review: Transmission by Death in Vegas

For an act with as strong a sense of image as DiV – with all their glowering rockstar poise and now the edgy art/porn credentials of the addition of Sasha Grey on vocals – there’s an odd lack of individual personality here. That’s not necessarily a negative, mind. They have narrowed their focus considerably, losing all the guitar drones and taking their inspiration from sexed up fringes between synthpop and industrial: think Chris & Cosey, or the moodier reaches of an Optimo, Weatherall or Ivan Smagghe set.

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Ponder if you will the murky twilight world of Death In Vegas‘ Richard Fearless; a stranger to daylight in his crimson velvet cocoon deep beneath the streets of the metropolis. A clock ticks the wrong side of midnight as our ‘fearless’ author concocts another brew of psychedelic club-based paranoia while flicking idly through a vintage jazz mag as a mind-bending Italian horror film plays soundlessly in the background. Ushered in clinging to the underbelly of the ‘big beat’ dance conglomeration in the ’90s that also featured Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers and even The Prodigy, there was always something a tad sleazy and subversive about the ventures of Fearless and Steve Hellier (soon replaced by Tim Holmes) that set them apart from their peers.

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Now firmly in the pantheon of heritage British electronic acts, but always a little more esoteric than his more commercially friendly peers, Richard Fearless has travelled down a much more interesting route from the likes of The Prodigy or The Chemical Brothers. Returning after a seven year break with 2011's excellent Trans-Love Energies album, his music had taken a noticeable left turn, gone were the routine of guest vocals and beaty material, replaced with an introverted sound which referenced both obscure acid house and dusty Jesus and Mary Chain 7”s at the same time, expertly fusing electronics with krautrock influenced propulsion washed with shoegaze atmospherics, it was his most satisfying release to date. Those expecting more of the same will be surprised (a real surprise rather than a record industry derived 'oh it's a Beyonce album' forced surprise) as Transmission comes from a totally different place.

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