| What does Daedalus not do? A tireless producer with the likes of MF Doom on his list, this hip-hopper has captivated so many people with his tirelessness and seemingly bottomless pit of new ideas and styles that I've always imagined his music to be hard to guess in terms of what comes next. But this new album, "Denies the Day's Demise", was even more of a surprise than I had expected… taking a big turn from the major hip hop influences we've gotten accustomed to and going toward a much more electronica styled output. Even more than your everyday run-of-the-whatever electronica though, this is more like the actual old style hand clapping sound sample house techno. Denies the Day's Demise is not atmospheric and ambient by any means, let me get that straight, however it's definitely a lot more landscape-ish than the intense bomb dropping style of earlier albums. But it doesn't lose intensity, there are plenty of heavy beats and breakdowns in here to nod your head to, but there is also a chilled out concentration that is inherent to electronic music. Example: Bossa Nova, that's right, there's Bossa Nova in here. Some kind of Conga type stuff, and a heavy techno-feel that turns this album on its head. I don't want to take the change in style too far, there are threads leading back to all the previous work Daedalus has done, but with a… different climate I guess you could say, and I mean that almost literally. Whereas his other work always invoked a here-and-now kind of feeling for me in Brooklyn, this album makes me think of a long vacation in the Dominican Republic or some sandy beach somewhere with a lush rainforest in the background complete with strange monkey-style wildlife. It's like somewhere after the depressive feeling of previous albums, this one has a smile on its face and a pair of sunglasses. Is that good or bad? I'm not sure. Admittedly, I am still drawn to Daedalus' previous work and I can't say this is my favorite, which can either be my lack of sunshine, or it could be that I find this album a little less easy to follow, like there's something I'm missing that would make the album seem more cohesive or make it flow more smoothly for me. And that makes me feel a little stupid, and of course makes the album a little less fun to listen to. So I wouldn't say, for me, that this is his best, or my favorite, but it's a new direction for Daedalus and worth watching his progress through. - Indie Workshop |
2XLP/Out Of Print