Mark Spybey is essential to this group, and it is into his musical world that one slowly saunters. Not quite industrial but not quite ambient, Dead Voices on Air is about challenging the listener and inviting him into tackling various sonic landscapes. A song such as "Tongue Like Scree," for example, has a fuzz or some semblance of feedback set against a primitive percussion beat. Imagine a cross between Primal Scream, Nine Inch Nails and Tom Waits and the ditty becomes a bit clearer. Most of the tracks are quite experimental, like the short and ambient-tinged "Furtive" that is somewhat haunting. But the album rests on a couple of very lengthy pieces beginning with "Labrador" which opens with a rather odd but effective dreamy, hypnotic loop or sample and a string of effects. It could have come off of Pink Floyd's "Echoes" masterpiece, but doesn't stray too far from the initial groove. Jungle elements are added to give it a worldly feel. While not boring, it is far from exciting, at times recalling a mediocre Kraftwerk number. "Splay" however, doesn't come across as strongly, with its quasi-ethereal feeling accompanied by a drone that never grows on the listener. "Halv" sounds as if it's been spliced in half with portions of words mixed with eerie, monotonous samples and effects. Dead Voices on Air shine during the quirky "Madagascar" despite the occasional, annoying high-pitched tones that are emitted. But this highlight is quickly offset with a tedious "Papa Papa Nesh" that is far too similar to Enigma. ~ Jason MacNeil
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