Sheffield's finest, The Black Dog, will attempt to cause more confusion later this year when they release their new album, Further Vexations.
Fresh off their RA podcast tribute to Underground Resistance, the trio is set to drop an album that "lends itself to the dark club atmosphere." Known primarily in their early days for more downtempo fare, this reflects a slight move towards clubbier sounds, but long-time fans should have nothing to worry about: They also claim that the unique melodies of the Dog are firmly in place here. Looking over the tracklisting, you can't help but feel that's a good thing, as it seems the Ken Downie and the Dust Brothers (Martin and Richard) have gotten a bit political. "CCTV Nation," "We Are Haunted" and "You're Only SQL" all seem rather straightforward in telling you how they feel, but in the press release for the album, Martin spells it out even further:
"Our main concern was and still is the amount of personal freedoms being surrendered under the banner of 'for your own safety'—CCTV, Biometrics and the World Wide Databases being the latest inventions to save us for ourselves. What is it going to take for people to wake up? How much further can the people that we’ve put into power go before something finally snaps? We've had enough now! We believe that people have become lazy and accepting of 'beige' political parties who have realised if they stand for nothing, people will fall for anything."
Tracklist
01. Biomantric L-if-e
02. 0093
03. Phil: Because Ov, indeed
04. You're Only SQL
05. We Are Haunted
06. CCTV Nation
07. Stempel
08. Northern Electronic Soul [Part 1]
09. Northern Electronic Soul [Part 2]
10. Northern Electronic Soul [Part 3]
11. Skin Clock
12. Dada Mindstab
13. Tunnels Ov Set
14. Later Vexations
15. Kissing Someone Else's D.O.G
Soma will release The Black Dog's Further Vexations on April 9, 2009.