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AMZ Musiczine Review: "Life In The So-Called Space Age"
Artist: God Lives Underwater Title: "Life in the So-called Space Age" Label: 1500 Records Rating: 2 1/2 stars (out of 5) The latest release from "God Lives Underwater," "Life in the So-Called Space Age," is most definitely electronic music, and yet the band members do not consider themselves a techno band. "We tried to make an organic-style record, but all electronic," GLU's Jeff Turzo says, "That's what we're about. We made the whole record in our bedroom. I would liken us more to Radiohead or David Bowie or Pink Floyd than any techno band. We just use the same tools as techno bands." Should you buy it? I must admit, this record doesn't sound like most of the other techno I've heard. The band prefers to record in the comfort of home because in the studio "you always feel like you have to hurry up." I guess if you have everything you need at home, why bother with the studio? The question remains---should you buy it? The first single from "Life in the So-Called Space Age" is "From Your Mouth," and it's a pretty good song. It has a catchy beat and the lyrics are interesting. "I've heard a million things/ Gossip's being sent to me/ I don't wanna believe it/ Until I hear it from your mouth." Listen to this song once and it'll stick with you all day. Frontman, David Reilly, says that "There are about 20 people who are asking if I wrote it about them." He's not admitting to anything. Reilly doesn't like to specify about any of GLU's lyrics. "The songs are going to mean something different to everybody who listens to them. I don't like to tell people what the deal is, because it pigeonholes the experience of understanding what the song's about." "Can't Come Down" is another one of the songs I liked on this record. I think it's because there's less electronic music involved. It's more simplistic. It starts off with just a guitar, and although there is an underlying electronic beat to it, the guitar still stays in the foreground, keeping control of the song. The lyrics are interesting. "Please believe me/ Round and round/ Hear the sound...reality crashing into me/ I hear the sound...But I can't come down." Intriguing image. The record got a little tedious after the first few songs. There were a couple of instances that I found myself checking the CD player to see if it was stuck or something. "Behavior Modification" was one of the songs. At the end there is a big blur of humming that made me wonder if my speakers were malfunctioning. After about 5 songs, I found myself falling into a hypnotic stupor. The music just droned on and I wasn't processing anything. Maybe it's me. I had to keep replaying tracks because it all started to run together in my head. The one song that I was most looking forward to was "Medicated to the One I Love." I think it was the title that appealed to me. It was another disappointment. The music was tiring but there was one thing I liked bout it---the line "Elastic mind that always bends for my drug of choice." Hardly enough to recommend the whole song, though. Should you buy it? I don't recommend this one unless you're really a big fan of dirge-like electronica. It started off good but lost something on the way. 1998-05-00 http://www.amzmusiczine.com/05_98/newrel10b.htm
God Lives Underwater "Empty"
They've got the proverbial fuzzbox and they certainly put it to good use! Laying it all out comparable to the likes of Machines of Loving Grace or Filter, GLU creates a dark, brooding sonic view of the world. With titles like "No More Love" , "Fool", and "Scared" the thematic collection would be depressing were it not for the well-crafted grooves and faster pace of many of the tracks. Adam Kary, Andrew Mcgee, David Reilly and Jeff Turzo are God Lives Underwater, Turzo and Reilly being the 'brains behind the musical mayhem' (ie. writing the songs). They released a self-titled EP not too long ago that was brilliant. Their performance at the "Sextasy Ball", about a month ago in New York, with Thrill Kill Kult and Lords Of Acid was equally brilliant. Taking this as a hint of what was to come, I braced myself for the full-length effort. The most glaring oversight in the compilation of the aforementioned first full-length release was the omission of the in-your-face opening track to the EP, "Drag Me Down". It seems as if only a couple of the EP songs carried over to the album. It's a shame, because some of the tracks that didn't carry over, moved a bit better than some we got on Empty. The EP is worth checking out as an addition to the album, not instead of it. Empty's brightest tracks are "All Wrong" and "No More Love", providing contrast for the dimmer "23" and "Scared". What the dim tracks do provide is a showcase for a technologically augmented band's singing ability. The lead is well taken, and translates to live sound well unlke many of their contemporaries. Talent!? What a concept! http://www.westnet.com/consumable/1995/10.15/revgodli.html
In Music We Trust Review: Life in the So-Called Space Age
God Lives Underwater Life in the So-Called Space Age (1500/A&M) By: Joshua Porter [1998-05-00] In 1993 God Lives Underwater released a self-titled EP, which mainly went altogether unnoticed, except to eager fans of the industrial underground. The band, (led by David Reilly and Jeff Turzo, and assisted by instrumentalist's Adam Kary and Andrew Mcgee) released its debut full length album Empty, in 1995. The album basically followed in the footsteps of the EP, which was centered on basic song structures using guitar oriented songs, electric drum beats and strange space like beeps and noises. However the album was a step above the EP and was very good for now out of business American Records, who had worked with Lords of Acid, Slayer, Danzig, and industrial pioneers Skinny Puppy for their final album The Process. Empty, remained in the underground despite modest hits "No More Love", which also appeared on the 93 EP, and "All Wrong", which was aired on MTV's late night "120 minutes". The album, although far from a bestseller, was very well written and became a fav among underground industrial fans. 1998, GLU releases the single "From Your Mouth", which received fair airplay among radio stations, and eventually MTV. The release date for the album was pushed back several times in hopes for a successful release through massive airplay of the now hit single. Life in the So-Called Space Age is a far cry from Empty. It wouldn't be fair not to call this album industrial, but it would also not be fitting to call it just this. The songs are far more textured and less guitar oriented. In fact, little or no guitars are heard on the album, the songs find their heavy points through a Skinny Puppy type industrial style. The album also has its share of acoustic melodies, while Empty had only one purely soft track, "23". Reilly and Turzo have obviously grown in exploration with electronics. The arrangements are complicated and original, varying from drum n' bass, to breakbeat, to pure industrial, to just....strangely interesting. Fans of the band will be surprised, but not disappointed. The band has grown musically and explores a whole new genre in electronic music variations. The album jumps from one curious style to another, the end track much like that of Trent Reznor's work, and the acoustic tracks peacefully using industrials elements in a sound that is simply...creepy. The album's track's bravely escape the basic song structure, completely allowing a creative hold to take over the music. With the hit "From Your Mouth" a catchy breakbeat tune, and songs like "The Rush Is Loud" taking hold of dark industrial. The acoustics mellow with deep throbs and crunch's on tracks like "Cant Come Down" and "Happy?". The CD is an extremely creative exploration into the variables of a few keyboards and drum machines. http://www.inmusicwetrust.com/articles/08e05.html
Life In The So-Called Space Age
02.23.2001 God Lives Underwater is a Los-Angeles-by-way-of-Pennsylvania duo that plays "hardware-generated" music on electronic instruments, with some guitars thrown in. On their second full-length release, God Lives Underwater (comprised of Jeff Turzo and David Reilly) creates a full frontal assault with aggro-electronic riffery and balances things out with subverted pop songform. Far from the realm of straight techno, God Lives Underwater tends to use vocals as much as they embrace technology in their sound. Energetic and occasionally even poppy, GLU is not afraid to make danceable, good-time music amidst the squall. In the opening song, ""Rearrange,"" they embrace an early Sabbath/Nugent-styled grind with a wicked industrial bent. In ""From Your Mouth,"" Dave Reilly's singing is almost pretty, while a computerized funk melody squiggles and squirms underneath. In some ways, this band can be reminiscent of English gloom-romantics like Depeche Mode or Soft Cell. Dramatic, impassioned, and eerily insular, they build looming songs around stern vocal tracks and thick studio embellishments. While Turzo and Reilly may be quite serious about capturing a big, bruising sound, the relentless nature of their heavier tunes can be a bit overpowering. But when they embrace more soulful material like the song ""Behavior Modification,"" GLU can be a tuneful little electro-pop ensemble. It wouldn't be completely surprising if God Lives Underwater managed to score a crossover hit with Life In The So-Called Space Age. Songs like ""Dress Rehearsal"" contain huge slabs of the monomaniacal riffs that always seem to find their way into the consciousness of wasted youth. Inhabiting a fine middle ground between alternative rock and distorted electronic pop, God Lives Underwater waxes totally poetic on the song ""Happy."" With a sweet, surreal melody juxtaposed against an echoing, synthesized drone, this tune extends the sonic concepts that Jesus And Mary Chain originally stole from the Beach Boys and then breaks the mold into a thousand little electronic pieces. The combination of painstakingly crafted electronic instrumentation, ambitious, accessible tunes, and imposing aural moods gives GLU a fairly distinctive identity. While their vocal chops are not always what you'd call compelling, they are earnest and fraught with drama. How could you not respect a band that closes out their CD with a song titled ""Medicated To The One I Love""? In the final analysis, God Lives Underwater is an unusually creative duo that inhabits a musical world all their own. You may not always want to go there, but it's good to know it exists. Original URL: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1440160/20010223/god_lives_underwater.jhtml
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