Search - Dive :: Snakedressed

Dirk Ivens earned his impeccable industrial credentials as the vocal half of the legendary Belgian duo the Klinik. The Lennon-McCartney of minimalist electro, Ivens and partner-in-grind Marc Verhaeghen influenced countless acts that followed and turned out some classic discs that still sound fresh and distinctive years later. Verhaeghen continued to record as the Klinik after the split with Ivens, but who's kidding who? Maintaining the Klinik without Ivens is like trying to shoot pool with a rope. But Ivens's main solo project, Dive, is a different story, and it's evident from listening to Snakedressed which Klinician was the indispensable one. Though not as experimental or noise-oriented as some of Dive's earlier discs, Snakedressed packs a mighty wallop in its scant 40 minutes. Joined by Nightmare Lodge's Ivan Iusco, Ivens pounds out 10 darkly intense tracks that run the gamut of influences from hip-hop (the funky title track) to rhythmic noise ("Machine Gun Baby," "Throw Myself Away") to atmospheric electro ("Weeping in the Dark," "Dark Room"). Wedded to solid, chunky rhythms, Ivens's treated vocals make this very much an old-school industrial album. In fact, if you close your eyes and wish hard enough, you just might trick yourself into believing it's a Klinik album. At the very least, it's a brilliant way to bide your time until Verhaeghen and Ivens kiss and make up. --Steve Landau