DISSENT
Bleeding Together (Wide Hive)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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Nathalie Sanchez's voice may appear to be the centerpiece here, and it is admittedly quite appealing, but most of the best moments on Bleeding Together occur during the fluid instrumental tracks. Call it electronica or call it acid jazz, because both evoke an appropriate expectation. I have a handful of faux-genre names I don't use in reviews as a rule, but since this group fits so many of them, I'll share. Decompressing Music; I've Just Reviewed Too Much Punk Music; Float Me Away Music; Insomnia Websurfing Music, and of course The Vicoden Has Totally Kicked In Music. All of these are harder to say than "soulful electronica" or "acid jazz," but they just seem better somehow.

Dissent are better than the average bears, themselves. Under the watchful... ear of producer Gregory Howe, owner of Wide Hive Records, they've become something other than just another roll of pretty musical wallpaper. Beginning with an ambient electronic base, they mix in splashes of funk, traces of soul, and leave a bread-crumb trail of jazz that never dominates but always keeps jazz-minded listeners curious without alienating the rest.

When Sanchez sings over the musical terrain created by Howe, guitarist Calvin Keys and keyboardist Kat Ouano (of Mission), it's a whole different thing, beautiful and serene and bound to be a hit with many while others argue it distracts from the soundscapes. I like both modes, but there's the common thread of the underlying music, which is oh so fine, even before the Vicoden kicks in.

© 2002 - DJ Johnson