Unknown to the I is only a cassingle but JESUS-LORD is it ambitious in its post-punk-y stripping-down of the 80s and its distinct sensibilities. A lot of artists plumb that ground these days but Drab Majesty take the cake and eat it, too, by injecting a life’s worth of sincerity into every aching, woozy, hazy (this IS a lofi take on the 80s, after all) detail. Much like Transfx, her Majesty take the music of a bunch of coked-up icons and turn it into quavering emotional gold, a celebration disguised in dark haze. For once, I find myself cursing instrumental “Saturn Inc.” (though it’s lurid and quite special in its own right) and wanting more time with the singer and the title track, a warped take on a Chameleons motif that, to the credit of its producers, sounds grand and ampitheater-HUGE despite the oft-unreliable cassette format. “Ultra Violet” is another stunner, this time more in the mode of Depeche, especially where the vocals are concerned. But that guitar; that’s the early 80s post-punk explosion in a nutshell. In other words: classic, with another winning job behind the boards. If Drab Majesty’s recent full-length LP (Careless) is anywhere near as captivating as Unknown to the I we’ll have a nice mess on our hands, won’t we?
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