Artist: Dead Can Dance Album: Spleen and Ideal

Year: 1984
Duration: 39:19

Exploring the Brilliance and Critiquing Dead Can Dance's Album, Spleen and Ideal

Dead Can Dance, a unique gothic/darkwave band founded in Melbourne, Australia, has been inspiring fans for over four decades with its music. Their album, Spleen and Ideal, was released in November 1985 and has since been considered a landmark in their career. This album showcases the artist's honing of their style of merging world music with classical and gothic motifs. With Lisa Gerrard's enchanting and haunting vocals and Brendan Perry's unique guitar riffs, this album revolutionized the music industry's approach to gothic rock. However, as much as the album is critically acclaimed, it is essential to review its best and worst aspects.

History of Dead Can Dance:

Dead Can Dance began as a band in 1981 with Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard and became a pioneering force in the gothic music scene. Their early music was primarily influenced by post-punk, but the band began to develop their style from their use of exotic instruments from around the world. By the time of Spleen and Ideal's release, Dead Can Dance had started incorporating more orchestral elements, giving their music a classical dimension. The album was also a novel approach to incorporating varied musical influences such as African and Middle Eastern styles while remaining within the Gothic rock framework.

Album Genre:

Spleen and Ideal finds itself in the sub-genre of Gothic rock; however, it is a fusion of more than one genre. It contains a blend of world music, classical music, and rock, an unforgettable combination that led to the album's critical acclaim. There are many moments on the album that feel operatic, featuring lush string orchestrations and church organ bells, creating a haunting, other-worldly effect that has become a trademark of Dead Can Dance's music.

Best Songs of the Album:

The album opens with De Profundis, a perfect opening track with an ominous drone accompanied by choral chants. The Cardinal Sin incorporates African rhythms and features Lisa's vocal abilities, becoming a fan favorite. The Middle Eastern and orchestral-driven track Mesmerism is a standout track, with its hypnotic instrumentation and Brendan and Lisa's harmonizing vocals. Enigma of the Absolute is a sonic masterpiece, full of haunting choral chants and Middle Eastern musical influences, making it a signature style of the band.

Most innovative part:

Spleen and Ideal followed the band's debut self-titled album and showed the band's notable leap forward in their musical direction. The uniqueness of this album lies in its incorporation of different musical cultures, unusual musical arrangements, and the pairing of the contrasting vocal styles of Brendan and Lisa. It was groundbreaking at the time and has since inspired many musicians and was the blueprint for the band's catalog. The album's most innovative part is the use of a wide range of instruments and textures, creating spiritual and cerebral dimensions in the music.

Critique to the Album:

For some, Spleen and Ideal does not lend itself to consistent listening, mainly due to the album's atmospheric quality that is not easy to digest. For some fans, the album became less compelling in their discography due to later albums retaining similar elements but also being more accessible. It should be noted, however, that Dead Can Dance specifically intended to create music that was challenging and unconventional.

Dead Can Dance's Spleen and Ideal is an album that has become a reference for many artists in its genre. The album broke new ground with its blend of world music, rock, and classical music, creating an entirely new sound. The album's haunting quality and use of a choir and an array of instruments work together to create a unique, atmospheric sound that is a hallmark of Dead Can Dance's music. This album is indeed essential in the band's catalog and should lend itself to a listen by anyone who enjoys experimental and boundary-pushing music.