Drop The Lime - Enter The Night
- By Matthew Laidlow -
- Jul 02, 2012
As we grow up, there are certain habits that we refrain from doing. Instead of believing that the tooth fairy brings us money for our crooked teeth and a magic rabbit plops out chocolate Easter eggs; we instead believe that nonexistent monsters will kill us in the night after watching horror films whilst spiders will maim us after being washed down the plughole.
But do musicians ever need to break out of the genre they’re doing and explore new grounds? Some would argue yes and other would argue no. As a fan of Drop The Lime, the chance of hearing new material was a prospect that couldn’t be turned down. After discovering him on a sampler CD for the Tigerbeat6 label that has artists including Drop The Lime dabbling in glitch, electronica and chaotic breakcore. ‘This Means Forver’ which was a split release with the Very Friendly record label showcased a wide variety of styles that six years on, is still pleasing to the ear.
Six years on from ‘This Means Forever’ music scenes have changed. Dubstep is still the major genre offshot of so called “dance” music and more artists are finding themselves breaking in to the Top 40. It seems unlikely that Luca Venezia aka Drop The Lime has done what so many people and resort to what’s popular. Instead, he’s gone back to his influences including Ennio Morricone, Underworld and Johnny Cash. At first, it might seem unlikely that a techno blues storyteller could even work, but Underworld especially are masters in the cryptic story. After all, their anthem ‘Born Slippy.NUXX’ isn’t a celebration of alcohol, but a cry for help through the alcoholism suffered by singer Karl Hyde.
Citing the gloomy economic times, the downtrodden times we all feel are masked by Venezia’s love for his home city, New York. Of course there have been thousands of others before him who have worn their heart on their sleeve for their city, but lyrically, it thankfully doesn’t bore you with references to places in NYC you wouldn’t know unless you were a permanent resident. Social unease normally gives artists the chance to be a pretend politician and voice an opinion which is as concrete and worthwhile as a teenager spouting off on Twitter.
Unlike his previous work, you could see a full live show being concocted out of ‘Enter The Night.’ Granted, there are a few moments of electronic grooves and shaking, but the majority is a carefully constructed album full of slick guitar riffs and catchy piano chords. This is a very sophisticated sounding effort from an individual whose long been performing in a very underground scene. In the UK, Plan B made the leap from foul mouthed hip-hop act to a smooth crooner, with Drop The Lime, the frenzied drilling beats have been replaced with a calmer sound that wouldn’t sound of place in the most sophisticated of live clubs and venues.
7/10
By Matthew Laidlow. Blogs at hecklerspray and tweets at MatthewLaidlow
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