Black Dice
Beaches & Canyons

THE REVIEW

A group like Black Dice belongs to that category of new generation bands that have achieved a fair amount of success in the underground scene, partly on merit (see albums like "Beaches and Canyons"), partly by reiterating their idea without adding anything new ("Repo" from 2009 could be proof of this).
I find it appropriate to place the band in that melting pot of experimentation that fuses electro-acoustic, but also some touches of noise and a metropolitan sound overall, in other words: noisy but with logic. Natural elements are mixed here in the name of a feeling, of a rhythm that is (de)constructed throughout an album or even a single song..after all, what could we have expected from a band that debuted with the formidable label Troubleman Unlimited and continued with DFA?

The debut on DFA represents the pinnacle of their career, in my view, still unmatched and difficult to reproduce.
At that time, it was 2003, there was a fantastic shop on Via Franceschi in Pisa called Wide which, besides being a well-stocked musical meeting point, also served as a record distributor. I won't go into the long afternoons spent within those walls now, in between conversations, it was a pleasure to come across absolute masterpieces or problematic records (to say the least). "Beaches and Canyons" by Black Dice represents both and is the symbol of that splendid season at Wide Records...

It consists of 5 songs that, one after the other, represent a noisy kaleidoscope with a thousand worlds within it, it feels like having visions and oriental voices, participating in new age evenings, but also in the chaos of clanging metropolitan rides, the beating of drums, but also the sea and celestial sounds. In short: Universe. "The Dream Is Going Down" and "Endless Happiness" are the creative peaks of their career, together they exceed 26 minutes of pure captivating trip with flashes of contemporary genius.
You cannot ignore the knowledge of this album to understand what is being created in the USA from the point of view of experimental music and in 2003 these guys had l'argent vivo within them, which transformed this work into a cornerstone of the new generation.
Their music is positioned at the intersection between experimentation, metropolitan living, chaos and haste of today's world, but also something trendy like a daring haircut that starts a trend.. you can debate the appropriateness or not of showing up with that haircut at the cousin's wedding or the grandmother's funeral, but the fact remains that it is something never seen before and original.

This album symbolizes the state of contemporary musical research, earlier I mentioned two songs (never was a definition less appropriate) but it is a spirit of creative avant-garde that pervades this album.

If you find it, do not hesitate to buy it, it will not be like throwing two black dice on the roulette...