PMDS - Processor Modulation Density Sequencor

The PMDS project is a trio from Lisbon that sees itself as unconventional and without pretension as an extra-sensory experience, breaking the limits of music, created from Trip Hop, Industrial and Northern European Post-Rock. They want to create scenarios that make us stray, hurt, feel, fall and create. This is a self-titled album of eleven tracks.

Our first track is 'Under the Door', swirling noises turn into bass guitar and whispered echoing voices, giving the setting of a very dark and probably damp place. Occasionally the guitars burst into life to good effect. A foreboding dark ambient sound of sorts, but this still has a rhythm and a definable melody. "100 Days of May" is a little slower, a softer beat to begin, a more delicate and flowing sound, but the overall effect is a soundscape that gives the notion of solitude but still remains disturbing as the trepidation builds up through the track.

"Red Wall White Dream" returns us to the whispered vocals, and a soundcape similar to previous. The vocals in this track also strengthen at times as the soundscape changes. A downbeat trip-hop integrated with ambient track, a real melancholic chill sound as it's not experimental and retains a rhythmic feel. "80 Steps" has a very cutting and melodic deep sound, that builds up, the melody disappears and it includes some disturbing sonic and crunching industrial type sounds.

Things calm a lot with the more uncommon and unorthodox instrumentally sound of "Past Tension". Includes some very calm and almost spoken vocals and has an under layer reminiscent of progressive rock, which makes it unorthodox, full of conflicts and therefore a soundscape of tension. "Used to be easy" has a really nice beat, the guitars in the background and then again those whispering voices give the impression that the tension is building and at any point the whole thing is going to explode. The tension builds and then relents just pulling back at the limits of your endurance. A very clever track that could also be described as soothing, exhilarating and even spellbinding. Again we retain an element of the progressive rock sound.

"We Vs. You" starts with some dark, menacing and highly atmospheric synth beats. The whispering vocals give you a deep sense of discomfort, wherever I am I have no doubt I don't belong. The track completes with an outro of throbbing bass and guitar drones which have the effect that, if you didn't feel intimidated before, you will now, or if you already did that feeling will have compounded. "Unzero", starts with some weird voice samples, maybe human or part human even, perhaps some kind of part lizard/part man creature in a very cold inhospitable place. Perhaps we are with this creature as it and the track comes to life with more droning electronic sounds and guitars crying and grieving in the distance in a raging kind of way.

"Guitar ZX" has lots of distorted beats, and features acoustic guitar with prominence, and has an eerie background and soundscape, it's just completely unnatural in a good kind of way. "Emerging Thoughts" then comes comes with from the start a ruthless, even tyrannical beat. More of those whispering , sometimes distorted and menacing vocals follow the beat of this progressive rock track.

We conclude the album with "Glamour Box", which starts with great bass guitar, always sounding as if it's going to take off but doesn't. We end with a more ambient sound but never loses the prog-rock influence or the feel of darkness which has been prevalent throughout.

Conclusion:
To be completely blunt until recently I wouldn't have given this album a second look. All I can say is 'Thank God I am getting an education'. I have no doubt of the superb instrumental skill the trio must have to present a work to us of this caliber. The album production is also excellent. The whole thing is clever to say the least, as it can be soothing, disturbing, menacing, soft and hypnotic, changing with what seems to be little effort, but that's why it's so good. The album continually tantalizes from track to track, it seems to want to offer something up to you, but when you go to grab it, it disappears.

My highlights are, "Used to be easy" and "Emerging Thoughts", all because of those relentless beats. But I didn't like it all, "80 Steps" for example starts well, but then veers off in a industrial/experimental kind of way and with it goes my concentration and mindset. Also "Glamour Box" again great start and then nothing, it doesn't quite have that dangling carrot to reach for effect other tracks have. Might have worked as an outro if it was much shorter.

I will qualify this to say that in the main it's for lovers of the dark ambient genre, but it's different and doesn't fit there neatly. Very much reminds me of early 90's British electronica in places, as well as the progressive rock of Pink Floyd in others. Jul 08 2012