You’re only as free as the choices that you’re able to make. And, art only continues to have any value as long as the people making it are able to make their own choices without fretting about the consequences. But, don’t you get the feeling nowadays that the options are getting limited?
Just take music, for example. It used to be that some crank would complain about bands using drum machines and synthesisers as if that was beneath the spirit of rock n’ roll. But all of those sounds had to be programmed in and needed to be chosen by the artists themselves. What about nowadays, when there’s software spitting out fully-formed songs within seconds?
The new album, “Alone,” by Denver’s embracer of dark synth-rock psychedelia, Neo Dimes, is not so much a reflection on the idea that the machines might be taking over, but rather a cry against letting our human dreams get suffocated by AI, endless news about violence and the general mood of paranoia that dominates across the world.
Just listen to the opening track, the modern industrial rock of “Beasts.” It’s a highly creative piece where the machines are used for their ability to create a steady, overpowering beat that allows Neo Dimes to plant his lyrics about a world where you’re no longer alone at any point, where there’s no moment in which you can reassemble your priorities.
In fact, priorities and the ease with which we lose them are, in many ways, the unifying theme of “Alone.” “Angels” may be a track that takes inspiration from melodic ‘80’s synth-pop, but its lyrics talk about the modern world as some kind of dark forest through which we’ve all gotten lost and need to find our way back.
Yes, this is serious business. However, digging through the entire album is no chore. At its heart (and the record does have one), this is a dance album meant to be played in a dark, sweaty club on a Friday night. The synth melodies for “Trigger” are memorable and play over an almost aerobic-style beat. The well-produced “One Thing” dares to ask the deep questions, but the sound is lush and hypnotising. And, “How to Love” calls to mind the innovative early 1980s blend of post-punk and electronica.
Where does this leave us? Scared, but, hopefully, looking for a way out. The song that ties all the ideas together here is “Don’t Think,” a tune that blends industrial rock textures with alt-pop melodies, a song about our minds getting programmed just like they would do to those old 1980s synthesisers. If The End Times that One Dimes is singing about are to be avoided, it’ll only happen if we turn off the screens and move back to things that are real, meaningful and have heart.
