DO MAKE SAY THINK

This is a bit of an odd choice for a debut. Usually, one would try to make a strong statement with their first album, to catch people's attention and fashion a clear and distinct sound. This is often seen in the music industry as necessary in order that there will be sufficient interest in a band's follow-up album and concerts. But Do Make Say Think (DMST) here seem to be taking an opposite approach, or perhaps are setting themselves up as the anti-thesis to the standard music industry, or something. Each song here is quiet, repetitive and sleepy, with little to grab one's imagination. Instead, it almost seems designed to put the listener to sleep. The best tracks, like the opener "1978", "If I Only", and "Dr. Hooch", establish a nice groove with the bass and drums, and keep it going with some ethereal guitar and synth noodling over top (but, notably, not solos - this band likes to avoid any solos, perhaps in keeping with some post-rock creed?). The weaker tracks (like "Le'espalace", "Highway 420", and "Disco and Haze") do the same, but without the nice groove. When the album is at its best, it makes me think of Miles "In A Silent Way", which is a compliment. But a number (over half) of the tracks just wander aimlessly. This is the DMST album with the most synth on it, and it doesn't always work. The last track ("The Fare to Get There") is quite long, over 19 minutes. Of this, the first five minutes involve a very slow synth-flute meditation, which then evolves into a very slow drums and guitar sortof-groove (a straight slow four/four), built on a single chord that builds louder very slowly and repetitively over about five minutes, after which it fades even more slowly over the last 9 minutes. When I listen to this album, I can't help but think of a line from the live show in Frank Zappa's "Roxy and Elsewhere", where Frank (reflecting on other lines being improved by Jeff Simmons and Napolean Murphy-Brock) says "A true Zen saying: 'Nothing Is What I Want' ". Well, the album is not 'nothing', there is some creativity and there are at minimum three good tracks here. But the album seems to have that "nothing is what I want" ethos to it. If only there were some solos, some variety, something to maintain interest. But I do find this great when I need to fall asleep. I give this 4.6 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 2 PA stars. I would pick this up only after you get into (most of) the other DMST albums.

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