Drab Majesty – that’s Mona D and her partner Andrew Clinco. Although it’s a team effort, the spotlight is on just one person: Clinco performs as Deb DeMure, an androgynous being from another world who sees himself only as a cache of creativity and art. He describes it this way: ideas fly to him, flow through his body and come out again on »Unknown to the I« in the form of three dreamy new wave pieces. »The oceans were the killing machines / Living our lives in most lucid of dreams,« reads the opener. A long reverb trail lies on DeMure’s voice. As a result, the vocals repeatedly fade into the background. That doesn’t bother. Because on »Saturn Inc.« Drab Majesty does completely without lyrics. Guitars drowned in reverb, catchy synth melodies and drumming that is as precise as it is restrained determine the songs. All this creates atmosphere. The arrangement of “Ultra Violet” unfolds only slowly. Drums don’t come in until the middle of the song. Emma Ruth Rundle of the Red Sparowes assists on the microphone. With an ease, all the elements click into place. The EP provides the ideal introduction to the Drab Majesty universe. Familiar, warm and as cool as neon lights, the 15 minutes sound like »Stranger Things« composer Kyle Dixon has lit at least one too many incense sticks. Originally, »Unknown to the I« appeared on tape six years ago. Together with the debut »Unarian Dances« released in 2012, the music is now available on vinyl for the first time.
Matt Berninger
Get Sunk
Concord