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El Subliminoso

Dada - El Subliminoso Audio CD

A fair review of the Dada "El Subliminoso" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Dada reviews here, or go back to the Dada tabs.

Band: Dada
Title: El Subliminoso
Rating:

Release Date: 1996-04-02
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Time Is Your Friend 2: Sick in Santorini 3: Bob the Drummer 4: I Get High 5: Spirit of 2009 6: Star You Are 7: Trip With My Dad 8: You Won't Know Me 9: Rise 10: No One 11: Fleecing of America 12: Hollow Man

a kaleidoscopic excursion to far reaches of dada-ville
For this 1996 release, the group finally got control of the `helm'. dada's third (and final)IRS release "El Subliminoso" is their only self-produced effort (to date, anyway). The dense pile of multiple overdubbed layers on most tracks, the occasional stylistic departures, and the overall extended song lengths of this disc are evidence of the group flexing their studio "muscles" and letting themselves capture their full vision for the songs without someone else calling the shots or reigning them in. Close study of the results reveals a fascinating set of songs that were labored over for many months-songs that continue to reveal hidden details even after years of listening. Their extensive efforts paid off with the creation of one of the most varied and distinctive discs in an already high-quality catalog.

There are plenty of songs that stay firmly within the alt-rock-power-trio-with-harmony-vocals musical territory staked out in their tasty '92 debut "Puzzle" and the sumptuous '94 follow-up "American Highway Flower". These include the soft verses/loud choruses dynamics of "I Get High" , "Rise", and the disc opener "Time Is Your Friend", a rumination on mortality's ever-ticking clock. Also somewhat conventional dada-sounding are the rockin' "Sick in Santorini", the scathing rumination on self-centeredness called "Fleecing of America" and one of the disc's highlights, "A Trip with My Dad". This humorous, surrealistic tale of father/son bonding is craftily worded so that you are never quite sure whether this is the recounting of an actual point-A-to-point-B car trip, or whether maybe the two simply climbed in the station wagon, dropped acid in the driveway and never even started the engine.

A few songs stray farther from the dada `comfort zone' with generally good results. "Bob the Drummer" slightly resembles the spoken-word (not quite rapping) style of a song from their debut disc called "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" but incorporates a hip-hop beat. The sci-fi influenced "Spirit of 2009" employs some of the most densely-fuzzed bass on the planet to go with futuristic guitar sounds, distorted vocals and strangely muted drumming. "Star You Are" has an easy-listening, all acoustic, lush-harmony sound-but this deceptively sugary package hides a poisonous sting: lyrics representing the twisted world view of a deluded, homicidal "fan". This is easily the most chilling and disturbing song in the entire dada catalog if you listen closely enough.

"El Subliminoso" ranks as the most distinctive disc in the dada discography, and its occasionally challenging passages make it harder to absorb that the more immediately likeable other three 90's discs of dada. This disc, however, is most representative of the bands' vision and will ultimately reward the listener for making the investment in time it will take to fall in love with it. (Try it with headphones, by the way--amazing).

After this came out, IRS records imploded. After a self-titled 1998 disc on MCA failed to trouble the charts, dada entered the new millennium on a label-less, multi-year, self-imposed hiatus. The good news for fans is that after years silence or side projects (such a Butterfly Jones) they've revved up again in 2003. Look for more this year and beyond from this amazingly talented group.

Try the previous 2 albums first
Disappointing. This one didn't light my fire. The music is not bad though -- it just didn't live up to the previous two albums. I have had this album for several years and rarely played it (unlike Puzzle which I loved immediately and play often). Reading other's reviews here, I will try it again to see if it grows on me (I have my doubts though!). Don't give up on Dada though they are a tremendously talented band -- the best American band in decades (ever?).

UPDATE: Well I tried it again, and still did not care for it. Puzzle is the one to get. I read a comment recently from somebody that they thought bands should break up more often so that new more innovative bands can form -- I disagreed at the time (its bad when your favorite band breaks up) but perhaps he had a point. Where would we be now if Eric Clapton stuck with the Yardbirds -- no Blues Breakers legacy (so perhaps no Peter Green and Fleetwood Mac, Gary Moore, etc. ), no Cream (and so perhaps no Van Halen?), no Led Zepplin? .

An overlooked gem!
Killer riffs and hooks galore (I especially love Joie's bass intro on "You Won't Know Me"), plus some interesting 'storytelling'-type songs to complement the more standard DADA fare, are what you'll happily find on this album. DADA expands their sound and their songwriting subject matter in this, their 3rd full-length release. Some of the lyric writing ('I Get High' and 'Rise') falls a bit short of the stratospheric standard set on their first two CD's, but even those songs are still plenty good overall, due to the band's utterly amazing chops. (And other songs here are some of the best Michael and company have written to date!) Compared to their first two, this one might take a little 'grow time' for ya, but there's still no mistaking "El Subliminoso" for anything other than another killer DADA album!.

Dada Begins to Branch Out
"The Spirit of 2009" and "No One" are outstanding tracks which would have fit right in on the earlier albums, but Dada begin exploring some more varied styles on other fine songs like "Sick in Santorini" and "Bob The Drummer". This is Dada's third album, yet another 5-star effort, though I like the first 2 slightly better. Another winner.

Way cool.
I can't think of one track I don't like on this album. El Subliminoso is one of those albums that you "try out" because you've heard some stuff by the artist (in this case, Dada), and you really score. It's creative, original, . . . you'll find yourself just bopping and banging pretend drums to the music. The mood is pretty upbeat, yet with enough poignancy to get to your emotions. It's kind of hard to tell what they're actually singing about, but that doesn't really matter, because the music is killer. I guess the genre is rock. . . mood or ambient rock? with a bite. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

You can see a complete list of all Dada discography, or go back to the Dada tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.