Monday, April 13, 2009

Steampunk bands that "love the machine but hate the factory".

There seems to me to be two schools of Steampunk music, though there are probably many more than that:
  1. A cocktail of Brechtian punk, squeezebox, plinky racket, and morbidly humourous lyrics a la The Dresden Dolls, The Decemberists, The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For NothingDarcy James Argue's Secret Society, Thomas Truax, and Tom Waits circa The Black Rider.  Not exactly my favorite sound in the world but I know quite a few people who enjoy it.
  2. Good old fashioned - no pun intended - dark wave/electronica/trance/techno/IDM/70s score inspired/"World Beat" for flying to Mars in your brass and wood space faring craft. This is defnitely much more my style though I am not such a fan of the noodly stuff, y'know nine minute tracks with no beats or hook.  Two bands that fall into this school are Abney Park and Hopeful Machines.  See also: Barry Adamson, Greg Edmonson, David Newman, and Damon Albarn & Michael Nyman's Ravenous score.
I personally lean towards the second school but then again I'm a score/soundscape kind of guy. Check them out, see what you think, etc. etc. etc.





1 comment:

  1. Ida Hands1:28 AM

    Anyone here listen to Steam Powered Giraffe? They are a fun group from Southern California with a large following. www.steampoweredgiraffe.com Go Listen!

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