DarkDriveClinic - Noise in My Head

DarkDriveClinic is the new project from producer John Fryer (Nine Inch Nails, This Mortal Coil, Cocteau Twins) and vocalist Rebecca Coseboom (Stripmall Architecture, Halou). When such a renowned name as a producer and pioneer of the industrial and gothic genres decides to release an album of his own music, those listening are bound to have very high expectations. As always I will judge it by what is in it and not who made it, but it is very hard considering the very high standards John Fryer has set in previous work. Rebecca has also been placed in the top 50 of the '100 Greatest Women in Music' by Twin Cities Underground. 'Noise in my Head' is an album of 13 tracks, available from Metropolis Records and Danse Macabre.

We start with an ambient and atmospheric instrumental no doubt meant as an entrance, I hope this is not an indication of what is to come. We answer that question as No immediately when we move on to "The Offering". Rebecca's voice is striking from the start, with a celestial quality. The track is very intimidating and atmospheric because of the vocals and the good bass. It has some wonderful vocal moments like the first verse with:

"Waves grow
They get sullen
And they're clawing after me
And the cliffs in sunny skies glow
They shine golden...."

However, in some parts I found it hard work to listen to, just too much noise in places.

"Mercury Head" delivers a similar sound and the tracks appear to merge into each other. This track has a great chorus but due to it being so similar to the previous track, it is in danger of getting lost. "Litmus Heart" brings some change, has more melody and beat, but is still made by those continually penetrating vocals.

A little different once again and I stress little is "Find the Flaw", basically the same vocal and bass to the fore formula once again. Could have been a good ballad! In "Love's Lost Cross", the vocals are allowed to stand on their own more and for me it's a great improvement and much easier listening and the highlight so far. Also contains some nice guitar work.

"Breathe Shallow" is another nice song led by good vocals from Rebecca, and has tons of atmosphere. We find a more aggressive sound in "Still Contagious", and a faster beat, and great lyrics, has an element of punk to it which pleases me. Again the vocals are allowed to drive this track which for me makes it.

"Angel of Malcontent" has a slow start and is a ballad like track, the vocals are as consistently good as they have been all through. Builds up to a drum barrage which probably cuts too short. But overall I would say at 6 and a half minutes it went on far too long. "Bite my Tongue" is again a great vocal track, a nice dark but non-aggressive and pleasant electro sound, but with drums at its core.

"Silhouettes" has both industrial and metal sounds. It's aggressive but soft in places making for a great contrast. The guitars and vocals combine to make an excellent track. We have another very dark start with "Don't Give Up On Me", with Rebecca picking up the tempo a little. It has something to offer but is not a stand out track on the album.

"Noise in My Head" further helps to me to say that the album has some diversity having a catchy rock sound that really gets a hold of you. One to sing-a-long to, on your low days maybe, as sultry as you ever want to get.

Conclusion:
The sound is generally gothic broken up with some aggressive industrial sounds. The quality of the production is nothing less than excellent, but if it fell short of that mark I would have been very surprised. I can't however see the album being of great interest to industrial fans. More for those with a general interest in good dark music.

On the subject of Rebecca's vocals, I quote from the The Stranger in Seattle who said "her voice flutters around your head like a silky scarf and the whole is like a sonic manifestation of a romantic swoon". I agree completely, and John easily turns Rebecca's voice into another instrument on this album, so on several of the tracks her voice just melts naturally into the music.

Overall the album is not for me, but in places it's so sticky sweet I like it, and I hope I can still recognise good music when I hear it, which this is. It's an album you really need to listen too, but there comes the danger of it being too much at once for many. Highlights for me are two very different tracks "Still Contagious" and "Silhouettes" which has a Garbage and Shirley Manson sound, as do others. My main criticism of the album is that in places it contains too many distractions as the layering can become overwhelming. Jun 28 2012