Aggressive and beautiful, visceral and thoughtful, Dredg are set to release their highly anticipated release, The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion on Ohlone Recordings June 9, 2009. Produced by Matt Radosevich, "The Pariah... more »..." marks the Bay Area band s fourth full-length studio album. On this release, Gavin Hayes (vocals, guitar), Drew Roulette (bass, moog, speak & spell, samples), Mark Engles (guitar) and Dino Campanella (drums, keys) combine to create equal parts punk aggression and metallic complexity - a sound that brings together the artistic instrumentation, haunting vocals and emotional intensity that is Dredg. Though driven by rhythms and guitars, "The Pariah..." is far from a typical rock album. Inspired in part by Salman Rushdie s essay
Imagine There's No Heaven: A Letter to the 6 Billionth Citizen, Dredg capture the madness of the modern world, particularly its battles over religion and science, within a musical missive to the future. Fittingly, "The Pariah..." is packaged and constructed like a letter, its songs and instrumental interludes connected by eerie, evocative Wurlitzer piano-and-voice segments. Diverse and textured, these intentional imperfections allow some of Dredg s mellowest recorded moments to mingle with some of their harshest. "The Pariah..." combines the raw power of the band s earliest records with both the epic, cinematic sweep and operatic ambition of "El Cielo" as well as the exceptional songwriting and searing ballast of "Catch Without Arms."« less
Aggressive and beautiful, visceral and thoughtful, Dredg are set to release their highly anticipated release, The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion on Ohlone Recordings June 9, 2009. Produced by Matt Radosevich, "The Pariah..." marks the Bay Area band s fourth full-length studio album. On this release, Gavin Hayes (vocals, guitar), Drew Roulette (bass, moog, speak & spell, samples), Mark Engles (guitar) and Dino Campanella (drums, keys) combine to create equal parts punk aggression and metallic complexity - a sound that brings together the artistic instrumentation, haunting vocals and emotional intensity that is Dredg. Though driven by rhythms and guitars, "The Pariah..." is far from a typical rock album. Inspired in part by Salman Rushdie s essay
Imagine There's No Heaven: A Letter to the 6 Billionth Citizen, Dredg capture the madness of the modern world, particularly its battles over religion and science, within a musical missive to the future. Fittingly, "The Pariah..." is packaged and constructed like a letter, its songs and instrumental interludes connected by eerie, evocative Wurlitzer piano-and-voice segments. Diverse and textured, these intentional imperfections allow some of Dredg s mellowest recorded moments to mingle with some of their harshest. "The Pariah..." combines the raw power of the band s earliest records with both the epic, cinematic sweep and operatic ambition of "El Cielo" as well as the exceptional songwriting and searing ballast of "Catch Without Arms."
"The follow up to 2005's stellar "Catch Without Arms" is finally here, and while "The Pariah, The Parot, and The Delusion" won't be winning over any non-believers, it certainly shouldn't be a disappointment for current fans.
The band takes little risks with this release, undoubtedly in light of their obvious predicament. After releasing one conceptual masterpiece, "El Cielo," and the more straight-forward but equally as satisfying "Catch Without Arms," the band must have been concerned with how one finds balance between both albums while keeping everyone happy.
The new album manages to find that balance. Fans of the earlier work will be relieved to know that dredg hasn't gone in a more commercial direction; which, if I remember correctly, was a big concern for some after the last release.
The songs on the record should get better with age, unlike the immediately good but quick staling ones off of "Catch Without Arms." Also, the experimental edge missing from the last release is back in full-swing; Indeed, "The Pariah, The Parrot, and The Delusion" is perhaps dredg's most experimental record to date.
Of course, there's a flipside. Despite sharing a "Brushtrokes" type interlude technique (here, they're called "Stamps of Origin"), the conceptual aspect seems to be existent only on the surface. The album never reaches the conceptual heights of "El Cielo," and if there's some deeper theme to delve into here, it's blown right past me. You won't find the diversity of the previous albums here, either. For the most part, the songs all carry the same moods and move at the same tempos.
The album isn't bad by any means. It's just not the aesthetic statement fans are likely waiting for after four years of vacationing. Still, there's something here for everyone- U2's-esque soundscaping guitar solos, more experimentation with different sounds than the last Radiohead album, and a more heartfelt aesthetic approach than that of--well-- any Tool album. It could be that the album takes to few risks; low points are as few and far between as ever, but the highs aren't nearly as high as on previously releases. It may also just be that dredg just isn't the sort of band that can afford to wait almost half a decade between albums.
I give "The Pariah, The Parrot, and the Delusion" an 90/100, or 4.5/5; rounding up to 5/5.
"
"So Keep Moving Onward..."
Andrew Estes | Maine | 06/23/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Dredg's first album in four years, "The Pariah, The Parrot and The Delusion," is the first since their debut to be recorded without the supervision of a record label and the pressure to deliver a "hit" single, and it shows. Reverting more to the structure of their sophomore/break-through album, "El Cielo," while retaining the knack for writing conventional songs that they fine-tuned on "Catch Without Arms," Dredg may have very well made both their most ambitious and most accessible effort to date.
For Dredg, it's all about moving forward, which means no more 20 minute long interludes/instrumentals but also, no restraint. As good as "Catch Without Arms" was, it was all too obvious that they were holding back, thanks to being on a major label and still being relatively young in their career. With the maturity and freedom they have finally attained on "The Pariah, The Parrot and The Delusion," the California foursome leave no sonic stone unturned. A band truly in love with the art of making music, they will explore and expand whenever and wherever they can. If it means writing a "bumping," radio-friendly single with a hip-hop beat ("Saviour"), then so be it. If it means peppering your album with bizarre interludes like "R U O K?" that feature digitized vocals or "Long Days and Vague Clues," which could easily serve as the score for a Tim Burton flick, then that works too. The bluesy "Lightswitch" or the more modern-rock-ish "I Don't Know" help off-set the balance, but it's the sleek and cool R&B of "Mourning This Mourning" that best sums up Dredg's adventurous nature and their ability to make just plain good music. What really stands out here, though, is the fact that Dredg are no longer confined to being just an "art-rock" band, nor are they held back by catering to a mainstream that they will likely never fit into anyways.
The songs are great, and the musicianship is top shelf. It's every bit as experimental as you expect Dredg to be, while being every bit as cathartic and emotional too. Four albums in and over eleven years in the game, they show no sign of slowing down and have yet to sacrifice a shred of credibility. Longtime fans will rejoice at somewhat of a return to form for the band, while those late-comers who prefer a slightly easier-to-swallow sound will no doubt be enlightened by all "The Pariah, The Parrot and The Delusion" has to offer. If you have made it to the end of my review and you still aren't convinced, take my word for it: This is the best album you'll hear all year.
"
Their best album
Brian M. Lear | Portland, OR | 08/08/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album contains the refined essence of Dredg--focused, smart, and hard-hitting modern rock fronted by a passionate singer and backed by an incredible group of musicians. The drums, especially, are creative without being busy, and add a beautiful rhythmic dimension to the songs. I am blown away by this record, basically. The production is very tasteful--you will hear strings, keyboards, the works, but it doesn't detract from the Dredg sound. The vocals are more present and harmonious than ever, understated and simple, with mature melodies that eclipse anything on the prior albums. This album seems to signify a happier band. The lyrics and mood combine to give the impression that they have learned certain realities about the world, and they are now comfortable with who they are. And this is really the fundamental difference from past Dredg albums. Before there was an agonizing, yearning, almost depressed quality to the music. Here we find the band set free, a band comfortable with themselves and their music. The result is possibly the best album of 2009.
"
"Gonna move those clouds away, letting the sun shine through
Michael Lee | 06/15/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In all honesty, as the day of The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion's release approached I became a little scared that maybe all of the hype and anticipation I had set up for myself would fall right through the floor. A few days after its release, I bought the album, carefully put the CD into my car stereo, and began my fourth Dredg experience. Before the first song had even finished, I knew that this CD was going to be something special. Its been almost 3 days and the CD still has yet to leave my car stereo.
About four years ago was the first time I was introduced to Dredg and listened to "The Canyon Behind Her". I later bought El Cielo and was floored by the near flawless construction of the album. After El Cielo I bought Catch Without Arms, again absolutely mesmerized by each track. Leitmotif was obviously the next buy, providing me with an origin for this band I have come to absolutely know and love.
Dredg has thoroughly proved to be one of those bands that will continue to grow for quite sometime. It took four years and a couple delays for the sound of The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion to hit are our ears. To say the least, it was well worth the wait. The new album is cramed with 18 tracks, which was another fear of mine once I bought the album. I thought Dredg may just be stuffing in as much as possible. Not so. The structure of the album is very reminiscent of El Cielo. Instead of being based around a Salvidor Dali painting, the album is based off of a Salman Rushdie essay, and instead of Brushstrokes the CD is broken up with Stamps of Origin. The new CD still has some of the poppy, dance sounds found on Catch Without Arm tracks, such as "Mourning This Morning" and "Drunk Slide". With the poppy sound there is still plenty of songs with hard guitar riffs that sound like distant cousins of songs from Leitotif. Also like Leitmotif, The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion are also sprinkled with some instrumentals.
The new album is definitely a push foward. A band that is already fantastic has become even better. The lyrics are heartfelt and thought provoking and the music is solid and powerful. Dredg fans will be thoroughly pleased and I'm sure there is a lot offered to even those who've yet to be introduced. The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion is nothing less than spectacular and is another great installment to the ever evolving sound of Dredg.