Album, Single and EP Reviews


 

 

  Secondhand Language by PNDC


Secondhand Language cover art

Artist: PNDC
Title: Secondhand Language
Catalogue Number: Ammonite CD028
Review Format: CD
Release Year: 2009



One of side effects of being a reviewer is that you end up getting exposed to all sorts of music that you wouldn't normally listen to. That' how I first came to hear of PNDC - Predrag Nedic to his friends - when a copy of his exquisite "Fading Away" album landed on my desk.

Where PNDC excels is in his creation of atmosphere. Unlike many others in the ambient electronica genre, his songs have fluidity to them. There's nothing rough or jarring on show but if you listen carefully there's a lot going on in this background. His music is certainly not background music, in other words.

Now, taking songs like "At My Door" and "Animal Farm" as examples, you get the classic PNDC. The songs seem simple and have a bit of a retro feel to them but they show his trademark style. Their structure is that of a conventional song but they never end up that way. Layered vocals - most of which are provided by Housework - are used where you would expect guitars but he still uses guitars where you would expect them too. Maybe it is a side effect of his collaborative approach, but PNDC always manages a surprise change of direction. This time it is the deliciously surreal and quietly malevolent (in a Grimm's fairy tale kind of way) "Goodnight". Listening to Shadowlike sing "…goodnight cows jumping over the moon" just sent tingles down my spine.

All told, this is a classy album that deserves to be heard by a wider audience than its genre would suggest. It even sounds good too.


www.myspace.com/pndc
Reviewer:
Review Date: July 12 2009