Tag: Dead Lucid

Dead Lucid’s Desolation EP Dissolves the Boundaries Between Post-Punk, Psychedelia and Proto-Punk

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Dead Lucid Desolation cover (cropped)

Chicago’s Dead Lucid inject a great deal of noisy psychedelia into its post-punk on the new EP Desolation. Obvious touchstones can be heard on “Romance” like early Joy Division and that band’s own roots in the stark menace of the Stooges. The guitar operates like a droning wash over the bass and drums while the raw vocals carry the melody. “Rain” sounds like it’s going to be a dirty surf track but the tribal percussion bludgeons its way into the song and as the straight ahead guitar edges toward a warping, grinding sound. “Ambrosia” begins with a desolate introspection but blossoms into a dynamic yet melancholy ballad. “Head” brings things back into the realm of proto-punk and a charging song about coming unhinged. The title track of the EP is a sprawling fusion of minimalism and guitar solo maximalism yet one in which a sense of hitting rock bottom finds its expression when those fiery passages dissipate. Fans of Pop. 1280 and Protomartyr will appreciate how this EP doesn’t get stuck in some trendy post-punk of yesteryear worship nor does it try to scratch every itch of flavor and its own psychedelia while a nod to when Led Zeppelin went weird or something like Captain Beyond hanging out with Robin Trower and getting trippier is very much its own. Listen to Desolation on Bandcamp and follow Dead Lucid at the links provided.

deadlucid.com
open.spotify.com/artist/6iTwxNizRmTeuBV0XWt0iO
deadlucid.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/deadlucid
instagram.com/deadlucid

Dead Lucid Captures the Essence of its Live Alchemy on “Space Rock (Live at the VCR, 9/7/2018)”

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Dead Lucid, image courtesy the artists

Dead Lucid’s live recording of “Space Rock” at Chicago DIY space the VCR on September 7, 2018 is reminiscent of something you might have expected from a live Sleepers set as in the San Francisco post-punk band, not the Denver-based experimental rock band. The vocals seem to wander between pillars of rapidly cycling and shimmering whorls of melody accented by percussion. Like a noisy, psychedelic dream pop version of a jazz session. Like a lower fidelity Bardo Pond jam yet more coherent and focused. The sound is incandescent and lacking in the sound separation you’d expect from a studio recording but with the freshness that can only come from a live version of a song when a band can color outside the lines a little and adapt and work together to create a real moment for the people that show up. Some people think that a performance that sounds just like the album is the epitome of a great show when really it’s that unpredictability and the willingness to go beyond that makes live bands still worth going to see. This recording captures a bit of that living, breathing experience of a band recreating the magic of the essence of a song. Listen to “Space Rock (Live at the VCR, 9/7/2018)” on Soundcloud and follow Dead Lucid on the Bandcamp page.

deadlucid.bandcamp.com