REVIEW: Dianogah, Battle Champions (Southern)
- Kerwin So
Chicago's Dianogah has always stood out among underground rock bands for its unconventional lineup: two bass guitars -- one "sharp," one "round"-- and a drummer. That's it. They claimed the reason for this arrangement was because nobody in the band could play guitar. Once you hear the soft acoustic guitar tones of "Kaisakunin", the vignette which opens Dianogah's latest album Battle Champions, you'll realize that this has changed.
And that's not all that's changed. Dianogah's previous recordings generally tended to be muddy and plodding, favoring a more "math- rock" type of sound, replete with mechanical and sometimes sterile progressions. But hints of brilliance shone underneath, particularly the gentle tenderness that Dianogah has the unique capability to evoke. Battle Champions takes this potential-- realized last year in the band's stunning contribution to the Reach the Rock soundtrack -- and stretches it into the gorgeous expanse of a full album.
In fact, Battle Champions is less a rock album than a modern symphony composed of eleven movements. Warm, melodic basslines wrap around surging rhythms that unravel from looping syncopation into expansive, meditative passages, occasionally accompanied by just the right amount of piano (as in the epic "Indie Rock Spock Ears"). These elements together command an air of such innocence, quiet, and vulnerability, that you almost feel ashamed to do anything else while listening to it. In this sense, Dianogah bears an aesthetic resemblance to '70s troubador Nick Drake.
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect is that Dianogah very ably tugs at your heartstrings with very little use of vocals. And, while the imperfect voice of frontman Jay Ryan remains by far the weakest point of an otherwise astounding band, Ryan sings with enough quiet conviction to carry the two voiced songs through, diminishing Dianogah's power not a whit. Sample lyrics: "I pull my head inside my shirt/ I've had to cover up and hide/ Because I know that it's going to hurt/ It's going to hurt this time."
But if Dianogah has proven anything, it's that you don't need words to evoke deep emotion and get your message across. In saying that, I think I've already used too many words attempting to describe this album-- it's just something you have to experience for yourself. Me, I've been listening to Battle Champions repeatedly for weeks now, to the point where it has weaved its way inextricably into the dark passageways of my consciousnessness. Credit another masterpiece to producer Steve Albini, and hope that Battle Champions finally gains Dianogah the recognition they deserve.
