Review: Dreddup – 'Nautilus'

DREDDUP 

'Nautilus' 

LABTOY MUSIC 

Serbian industrialists Dreddup may not be much of a household name, but with 20 years and several studio albums to their name they certainly don't lack experience. As the band's 5^th studio album 'Nautilus' can attest. Dreddup inhabit the hard, stomping rhythmic end of the industrial spectrum favouring repeated bludgeoning impact over standard dance beats. But that doesn't make them any less catchy.

Opening with 'Awake' the band drag-out the atmospheric intro beyond a comfortable length to the point where the ambient synths and shouted vocals begin to resemble an early effort by Laibach. However the likes of 'Train To Madness', 'Fire Up The Palnet', 'Non-Negotiable', 'Face Off' and 'Nautilus' demonstrate an appeal that brings the band out of the oddity realms and into serious dance floor potential. The catchy synth leads, easy tempo and almost Rob Zombie style construction makes them very accessible.

The band is at it's most interesting though with the left of centre tracks dotted about such as the afore mentioned 'Awake' as well as 'Hospital For The Broken', 'Cold Eyes' and 'Two Of Us'. Making use of martial beats, oppressive atmospheres and jarring, sometimes glitchy synths.

As attention-grabbing as the track list is, the production isn't as good as it could be. The whole album is held back by a mix which becomes swamped and muffled very easily. The vocals never sound distinct and the use of distortion means a lot of elements blend into each other quite often. It's a shame as there is an awful lot of good song writing present on the album.

The band have the experience and the song writing talent to craft an interesting album that would work well for those who frequent dance floors as well as those who like their industrial a little more experimental. Its a fine line that only unravels in the mix. But nonetheless this is a solid offering.  

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