And Now for Something Completely Different: Diablo Swing Orchestra, Sing Along Songs for the Damned and Delirious
The title should be your first clue that Stockholm?s Diablo Swing Orchestra have a playful side, albeit a creepy one, as the wide-mouthed smiles on the cover of their second full-length, Sing Along Songs for the Damned and Delirious shows. One could look at the Peter Bergting illustration with either joy or horror, maybe a queasiness in the gut similar to that evoked by Angels of Light?s We are Him art, and doubtless that was the Swedish six-piece?s intent.
It?s a relatively simple pitch: Here?s a band that makes death metal swing. I don?t care if you like death metal, or if you like swing, or if you like neither, there?s at least some part of you that?s going to be interested. If someone said to me, ?Hey, there?s a guy who does gangsta rap polka,? I?d check it out regardless of my relative non-fandom for either genre. A novelty, a curiosity — call it what you will, you?re still hooked.
And in a way, that?s the greatest success of Diablo Swing Orchestra: their hook. I came into the record with an already pretty solid conception of what death metal swing might sound like, having garnered same from Devin Townsend?s ?Bad Devil? on 1998?s Infinity solo album. Being a fan of that execution, the idea of Diablo Swing Orchestra had its appeal, and from the first bum-ba-dum drums of opener ?A Tap Dancer?s Dilemma,? I found my expectations well met by the horns, distorted guitars, male/female vocals, upwardly-directed beats and chopped rhythms and changes. I won?t lie, there were moments in listening that had me wanting to dance like John Turturro in Barton Fink.
Surprising, however, were the other elements Diablo Swing Orchestra worked into their sound, like the Russian-folk-meets-Rammstein of album favorite ?A Rancid Romance,? with its operatic female lead vocals and counterpart male parts. That proved to be just one of numerous twists and turns the band would take, the horrifying ?Lucy Fears the Morning Star? and Primus-like playfulness of ?Bedlam Sticks? (if Primus was on the worst acid trip ever) only adding to the expectation-frying mayhem.
Sing Along Songs for the Damned and Delirious continues to surprise pretty much until the end, though there are some tracks that thrill less than others. Despite the highest reach vocally and a generally heavier context, ?New World Widows? is far from an album highlight. The short drinking song ?Siberian Love Affairs? leads into the fur-hat-ready ?Vodka Inferno,? furthering the band?s Kremlin fascination and acting as a setup for the country western ?Memoirs of a Roadkill? to come seemingly out of nowhere — the last of the real left-fielders on the album (sorry for the spoiler).
Closing duo ?Ricerco Dell?Anima? and ?Stratosphere Serenade? don?t add much to the scope, but reinforce the certifiable weirdness of what came before them. They?re kind of in a tough spot, because they?re not the best songs on the album, but to put them anywhere else, particularly the longer latter cut, would make them stick out more despite allowing ?Memoirs of a Roadkill? to serve as the closer. Nonetheless, cravers of the avant bizarre won?t be disappointed with either song, they?re just not nearly as context-defying as some of the other material on the album.
They call themselves ?riot opera,? which I guess could apply just as snugly as any other tag. Whatever they are, Diablo Swing Orchestra at very least offer a patch of unique ground those who find themselves terminally bored will be able to stand on for a while with satisfaction under their feet. Can?t say much for when the novelty wears off, but Sing Along Songs for the Damned and Delirious is a catchy, fun time until then.
Diablo Swing Orchestra on MySpace
Tags: Diablo Swing Orchestra, Sensory, Sweden
