The new Friends of Dean Martinez record is a fucking massively packed double cd set filled to the brim with pleasant tunes that transport you to a different place and time. Pardon my French, but this is just a shit load of indie rock, even for someone like myself, (a known addict), to handle all at one time. This conjures up distant a memory of a trip to the Old Country Buffet when I was quite a bit younger. I would run in there and grab a plate and have my choice of fried chicken, turkey, mashed potatoes, pasta, hamburgers, pork, vegetables, fish, and who could forget the so-called ice cream dispenser that put out some concoction that looked like ice cream but certainly didn't taste like it. In fact once I got so greedy for some of that fake ice cream I pulled the knob and it got stuck. Yeah, it is was all over my sweater and the floor, and I couldn't make it stop, how fucking embarrassing is that, and everyone was staring at me. When I finally got my plate full of grub, I would chow it down and feel sick to my stomach; the rest would go to waste while I received guilt trips about the starving kids in Ethiopia. Needless to say, we didn't go back there ever again. Anyway, where I was...oh yes I'm feeling way overwhelmed with the new Friends of Dean Martinez record.
This Arizona southwestern post-rock experimental group plays long drawn out songs that are certainly fitting for those long desert drives at night. The band is a bit of a supergroup sharing and taking members from Giant Sand, Calexico, and Naked Prey. Their sound is similar to if Godspeed You! Black Emperor were to have formed in Mexico in the late 60s, early 70s, or a more cinematic fuller sounding Dirty Three. The group has an almost patented sound of indie rock twang as steel guitars battle it out with odd guitar effects, bass, guitar and drums; it is showcased quite nicely throughout the 17 songs on the record.
As I listen to the first couple songs on the first disc, I imagine in my mind just how nicely these instrumental jams would be in a really fucked-up and twisted western film with lots of drugs; yeah that is how this makes me feel. I'm lost in the middle of the desert; I'm dehydrated and tripping on acid. Did I mention the part about passing out face down and waking up with scorpions all over you? Probably not, but nevertheless, the group manages to use these aesthetics quite well.
If you're tired of all the same post-rock boredom and are up for something drastically different, Friends of Dean Martinez is probably your best bet. They combine Eno-esque soundscapes with modern influences, while changing the motif to down south, adding in tinges of melancholy. While the double disc may be a bit too much to take at first, additional listens over a long period of time will effectively demonstrate the profound musical knowledge of the musicians in the band. At the very least they deserve some credit for trying something most indie-rockers wouldn't have the balls to do.
Disc 1. overload
2. alternate theme
3. through the whine
4. main theme
5. in the wire
6. wichita lineman
7. tennesse waltz
8. for all time
9. main theme
Disc 2.
1. h-hour minus five
2. and love to be the master of hate
3. time's not your friend
4. indian summer
5. under the waves
6. on the shore
7. omaha
8. cahuenga
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