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	Vol.7, No 52, November 30, 1999
	Electronic band scores with sound  By Jason Kosareff Daily Forty-Niner   Death in Vegas build songs that are dark, atmospheric and intense. Their new album, "The Contino Sessions," elaborates on musical themes subtly present in their previous album, "Dead Elvis."   ALBUM REVIEW: A Richard Fearless, Tim Holmes and Steven Hellier, the band's core members, write, mix and produce all Death in Vegas tracks, though they bring other musicians in to play the instruments.  A wide variety of styles emerge within the Death in Vegas format of dark, industrial beats.  The album opens with "Dirge," a mournful tune with a simple guitar line of a pair of chords, a standard bass and snare drum rhythm and bass guitar. What makes this track special, aside from Dot Allison's beautiful vocals, are the haunting samples and synthesized chords that build upon one another, until the song crescendos with a bizarre wall of noise.  On "Soul Auctioneer," Bobby Gillespie (Primal Scream) does a mean Bob Dylan impression. Gillespie's hippie transformation over the past couple years has gone so far that he even sounds as washed up as Dylan.  "Aisha" is reminiscent of their hit "Dirt," with the use of sampling, hard beats and electronic resonance. Iggy Pop's narrative is edgy and haunting as he tells the story of a serial killer looking for his lost "Aisha." The dope bass, snare and high-hat action and feverish guitar riff work in perfect harmony to back Pop's menacing vocals.  Dot Allison makes another appearance on "Lever Street," backed by the London Community Gospel Choir, which she arranged to sing a bluesy, lyrical, almost pop-like song. The icing on the cake is Jim Reid (Jesus and Mary Chain) on the blistering track "Broken Little Sister."   Reid's vocals sound as smooth and antsy as always, and the guitar mess accompanying him on this track reminds one of brother William Reid's guitars on nearly every Mary Chain track.  "The Contino Sessions" leaves Death in Vegas fans with the assurance that they are still masters of their genre and capable of staying at the forefront of the electronic music frontier.		LBSU 6th in nation   CSU budget to pass $244 million due to enrollment Surf makes you ill   Many reasons to be thankful   Pokemon won't have long run Electronic band scores with sound Men's water polo team drowned at MPSF tournament; finishes seventh   Men's hoops struggles Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.