Another album inspired by shopping centres? Indeed it is and this time Xqui & Dogs Versus Shadows are doing their artistic thing to evoke, or perhaps even invoke, the spirits of those concrete monoliths to consumerism with their album “Dwell Time”.
We are, of course, on course for another adventure in the hinterland of electronica with Xqui & Dogs Versus Shadows taking on the role of spirit guides. I had given thought to “Dwell Time” being a sort of supernal soundtrack but that isn’t really the case and requiem might well be a rather more accurate classification. Given such a classification, and if you had to give this album a colour, then it would be as basically grey as the structures that inspired it yet it also has to be said that this album is not entirely without chromatic appeal as, in almost playful counterpoint, multi-coloured looped merriment does sporadically make its way towards your ears and very nearly makes you want to dance the “Bargain Bin Shuffle”.
This being electronica from the margins, melody is not often the star of the show and most of the musical action arrives courtesy of some merciless looping and swooping of a variety of ambient textures and samples. Those ambient textures are successfully used to provide effective indications of decay and that is, I suppose is the true aim of an album like this. Shopping centres like the Arndales are undoubtedly on the list of things that will soon be of historical interest only so it is perhaps even in the public interest that someone write something musical that captures the ghost of the days when retail was king.
One day soon, albums like this will cause a sentimental tear or two in those too old to be cyber warriors and, no matter how the future turns out, I doubt that anyone will ever feel the urge to compose anything in honour of Amazon.
Available on vinyl from Bandcamp.