by Scott Yohe
Swiss indie-rockers Disco Doom are back with their first new album since 2014, Mt. Surreal. A fitting title for the record because it is indeed, quite surreal. Since so much time has passed since their last release it is easy to find yourself thinking of where they could go with this one. Would they continue with the slowcore-esque style they were working with on Numerals and Trux Reverb or return to their more standard indie rock style of Dream Electric? The answer is actually neither. Mt. Surreal acts as an amalgamation of their previous work while journeying into something completely new. It’s an album of ambitious instrumentals and even more ambitious ideas. An album that wastes no space and never falters in its attempts to be what it’s trying to be, the best Disco Doom album yet.
The record starts with the title track which showcases precisely the type of music you are going to get. It is filled with reverb-drenched guitar, packed with all sorts of interesting noises and heavy synths. The second track, “Rogue Wave,” sees the band cut loose a bit and start having fun with what they are doing. Vocalist Gabriele De Mario sings along with the instrumental to great effect, instantly locking into the groove that is happening in the background. Both Gabrielle and Anite Rufer play this track to indie rock perfection. The third song features a driving drum beat and lush guitars that are buzzing with personality. “Prolog” sees the band slow down to an Animal Collective-esque ambient-ness that you can get lost in forever. “Patrik” has the guitars tumbling over each other for an unbelievable sound that locks you in while the vocals mumble over it, creating a contradiction of seeming erratic and relaxed simultaneously. “Static Bend” sees the band cutting loose again and rocking out with all sorts of strange sounds that somehow come together to make something truly fascinating. The closer, “Clic Clac,” is the longest and the slowest song on the album, tieing everything together into a nice package, its the perfect send-off.
It is obvious from listening to Mt. Surreal that despite such a long gap from their last album, Disco Doom has not lost any of the magic. If anything they have grown into the perfect combination of all their previous sounds. There is not a single dull moment on Mt. Surreal, something of interest is always going on. Disco Doom has proven with Mt. Surreal that there is still plenty of interesting territory to explore in indie-rock, that taking your time with an album is better than rushing things, and that good things come to those that wait.