It’s rare lately that an album will reach out and grab me upon first listen. There are a few exceptions to the rule, such as albums from my favorite groups. Type O Negative has been my favorite band for the last 14 years. They are followed closely by VNV Nation and Nine Inch Nails. I always seem to be immediately enamored with their new albums and have yet to be disappointed with a release. I can’t say that with all of the music I enjoy. An example would be the new Birthday Massacre cd. I have enjoyed their previously released albums straight from the jewel case but their newest album, Hide and Seek took a solid two weeks of constant replay to finally admit I liked it.
Maybe I’m just musically jaded. I’m a self proclaimed audiophile and avid music lover. I’ll give anything a listen at least once, but don’t be surprised if I tell you what I think of it. I used to work for a store where music was the primary focus, so I spent my days listening to, talking about, organizing, learning about, and discovering new stuff. But since I left my job there 4 years ago I find that I have become slightly out of touch with new music coming out. I will usually only find out that a band has released a new album by text message from a friend, a mention of Facebook, or an accidental stumble upon at the local music shop.
One major way that I used to learn about new bands was to just look for something that I did not recognize, and if they were on a label that I knew signed artists I enjoy, I’d buy it an usually be satisfied with my purchase. This all went out the door when labels like Roadrunner Records started signing bands like Nickelback. I would have to say one of the only labels that has not done me wrong is Metropolis.
Fast forward to April of last year. I have never been one for the club scene. I don’t drink for one and I am not one for dancing, at least I thought. I started regularly going out Sunday nights to a night called Asylum. I was surprised to find a bar that played music like VNV Nation, Icon of Coil, Sisters of Mercy, and the like. It would be were I would be introduced to the group De/Vision.
Somehow despite my fangirl-ness for everything Metropolis Records, De/Vision had slipped through my fingers. To add insult to injury, they have been around since 1988! It wasn’t until I heard what I believe to be one of their more popular songs, “Rage” one night at Asylum that I had been introduced to one of my new favorite groups. Give me dreamy male vocals over catchy beats and synths any day. I immediately obtained every album they had released and my De/Vision pandora station is often my choice to listen to at work. Despite my new found love, their new album Rockets and Swords managed to sneak past me yet again.
The local record shop touts that they have the largest selection in town, and for the most part they do, comparatively. (They are no Amoeba Records or anything…) but I never see any De/Vision albums there. The electronic music selection is about 4 feet total and is mostly packed with Club Hits vol. 4268, Simply Trance, and so and so van so and so. I decided to take a gander tonight just out of pure curiosity, expecting to see the same live Suicide Commando albums and the cracked case of Northern Light by Covenant – but be still my heart there was a new De/vision album staring back at me. I immediately popped it in on the drive home and fell in love all over again. This album had managed to recapture that feeling of grabbing you from the first note and pulling you in. I took the long way home so that I could listen just a little bit longer, and I suddenly my hour drive to and from work doesn’t seem so bad.
What new music has captured your heart lately?
