Dali's Car
The Waking Hour

Dali's Car was a musical collaboration project that lasted the span of one album ("The Waking Hour" dated 1984. The collaboration in question was between Peter Murphy, singer of the legendary "Bauhaus" band (always found on vocals in Dali's Car) and Mick Karn, a myth in the avant-garde New Wave thanks to his excellent work as a bassist in "Japan" (in Dali's Car he takes on the role of multi-instrumentalist).

As mentioned earlier, two big names in the most "underground" and refined musical current of post-punk release an intriguing record composed of 7 tracks, linked by some common threads: the already established (and legendary) fretless bass of Karn, the numerous atmospheric parts, blending motives and arrangements typically of "world music" (a characteristic to which Karn has always accustomed his audience) and the warm and melodramatic voice of that ever-changing mask that is Murphy.

Each track, moreover, is strongly pervaded by a strong dreamlike and "grotesque" sense. In particular, the LP's cover describes this particular mood (it depicts two plaster statues waking up, immersed in a neoclassical atmosphere with, in the background, a lake nestled in the mountains).

The effective yet immediate introduction consists of the duo "Dali's Car" and "His Box", which have the onerous task of immersing the listener, gradually, level by level, into the dream that answers to the words recited with great emphasis by Peter Murphy. Here Karn, as he did in "Titles" (his first solo album), gives extreme proof of himself and his eclecticism by presenting as a multi-instrumentalist, not just a bassist. Woodwinds, electronic percussion, and synthesizers expertly positioned can be immediately noticed.

Despite "The Waking Hour" being undoubtedly a work of its time, even today it feels much less (or better) aged compared to many of its contemporaries. Here we can also find the excellent quality and foresight of the curious "Karn formula," dedicated to a wise mixture of classy genres like electronics, experimentalism, hints of pop, remnants of the New Wave school (which he had the opportunity to learn and make his own in the "Japan" school, which disbanded two years earlier), atmospheres and riffs typically of ethnic derivation (especially Asian).

Peter Murphy instead finds an opportunity to test his well-established genius and stage performance through verses and cadences typically of theatrical derivation, useful to the dreamlike nature that envelops the album.

Dreamlike nature that peaks in the central, or "nighttime," part of the album, consisting of a rem phase in "Cornwall Stone" and a conclusion typically "left suspended" or in any case unrelated to any song-scheme, which is also the first track of side B, "Create And Melt". Between the two, the most hysterical, hypnotic, and grotesque moment, encapsulated in the instrumental "Artemis", in my opinion, the highest peak for the bass, here magnificent and commanding like you don't often hear. The true peak of the whole work, in my opinion, can instead be found in "Moonlight", the total sum of Dali's Car's work. On one side, Karn's versatility, creating unique instrumental and orchestral overlays, and on the other side, a confident and solid Murphy.

The conclusion is entrusted to "The Judgement Is The Mirror," a track that shines for a very original text, yet for the rest represents the most boring moment in my opinion. It was, among other things, the only single extracted for the promotion of the album (which, however, had a poor performance in terms of sales) and for which there is also an intriguing music video.

Conceived in two different moments (Karn composed separately on his own and then Murphy, on his own, added the vocal part) "The Waking Hour" represents today the first and only step of the curious Dali's Car project, a work of undeniable quality which is unfortunately not easy to find around (although there is a CD reissue).

Highly recommended to those who loved the synthesis of Japan and the most "Dionysian" New Wave of Bauhaus, "The Waking Hour" is a rare gem that never disappoints. Especially if placed in a context of widespread mediocrity like the '80s.