Program the Dead - Dead in the City Basements
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008
I think I’ve finally got it. If I had to sum up Atlanta’s Program the Dead I would say they’re a mix between early Tool or Helmet, post-hardcore bands like Drive Like Jehu and These Arms are Snakes, a little Kyuss, and a lot of classic rock like the Doors and the Yardbirds. That took a lot of mulling over, and no doubt someone will disagree with me, but at least for me it’s one step toward understanding Program the Dead a little more.
Program the Dead’s live LP Dead in the City Basements fared better with me than their studio EP Calling the Snakes. I reviewed that one a while back, and thought it was some pretty boring and cheapened rock and roll. “Dead in the City Basements” has no new tracks (except for one cover) and features several from Calling the Snakes. Calling the Snakes failed to show me how versatile and resilient vocalist Matt James’ voice really is, while Dead in the City Basements has it resonating back and forth, never failing under many conditions throughout a pretty exciting set. The vocals were my favorite thing about “Calling the Snakes” as well, but to hear them live (even just a recording) shows how impressive they can really be. James has a very unique wail that can sound simultaneously sinister and vulnerable at times.
I’ve heard some mediocre studio albums before, ones that have led me to pretty much ignore the band from then on, only to coincidentally catch a glimpse of their live show later and be completely turned around. Conversely, I’ve seen live shows that compelled me to buy a band’s CD only to be confused and disappointed by it on the ride home. Either Calling the Snakes just wasn’t very spectacular, or Program the Dead are much better live.
There’s probably at least a little truth to both of those claims. Interestingly enough, the band has made every one of their albums available for free download on their website, with a message from the band permitting you to copy and share them freely. The idea that making music available for free download obviously hurts record sales but possibly drives up concert attendance may be the underlying principle. If that’s the case, Dead in the City Basements seems like a way of saying “this is what you’re missing,” and if you’re able to make it to a show you should probably consider it.
Dead in the City Basements has a better feel to it because it’s live and you can get a better sense of the energy, but also I think I just like some of these songs better, as most of them I hadn’t heard before. “Psycho Teenage Lust” is a track from Calling the Snakes and the live version didn’t change my opinion about that particular song. In fact, I think the studio version is better than the live one. There’s also a cover of the Doors’ “Hello, I Love You” which may have helped me understand this band and their influences a little more, but really the only thing that pulls it through is the vocals. It’s one of the songs that also seems a little out of place here, along with the next track “Pretty Mess.”
“Skin So Soft” opens sounding remarkably like “Roxanne” by the Police until it reaches an MC5-esque chorus and then continues to sound like Roxanne and tries to fit in a Van Halen solo near the end. This is the album’s best example of what I didn’t like about Calling the Snakes, it’s trying to do too many things at once and ends up sounding watered-down and borrowed…plus it forces me to use all these strange comparisons that probably sound like bullshit, but seriously, listen to it yourself.
Again, having all these things in one package isn’t impossible. I may have been more impressed with this album than the last, but I’m still convinced that Program the Dead suffer from a great lack of focus. Just like Calling the Snakes, it’s only a small percentage of the tracks that really sound like their own. Also, my difficulty in defining their sound shouldn’t be mistaken as indication that these guys are doing something groundbreaking and unheard of. It’s more an indication that I’ve had a hard time figuring out what they were going for. There are too many parts that equal up to an unremarkable whole. I’m now interested in seeing Program the Dead live, yet I still won’t be listening to them through headphones, which says a lot about this album’s effect on me. It’s good when musicians are ambitious, but it doesn’t help if they aren’t realistic about their strengths and weaknesses.
