Dallas Perkins - Emergent Behavior
Harmology Music

By Ben Ohmart (more articles from this author) 2001-05-16

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Artist: Dallas Perkins (www.dallasperkins.com)
Title: Emergent Behavior
Label: Harmology Music (www.harmology.com)
Genre: Rock
Audio: Below Los Alamos (MP3)

Anymore power needed from a 3 man band (with the occasional, additional guest musician), and you'll have to try King Crimson. Dallas Perkins handles guitars and voice, while James Doyle loudly works out on drums, and Les King takes up the bass. Together - with the help of studio multi-tracks - this is a heavy duty trio giving off heat like the best overactive Ford, loudly proclaiming discreet and power-hungry vocal/lyric collaborations.

'My head is clear / just like my conscience, resting / below Los Alamos. She won't hide. All of / her fears befriend the time in seven years. I / can't hold back. None of my tears burst. / History won't flow back in / time for me.' (That's how the lyrics are printed.) This is from the metal-bouncing 'Below Los Alamos,' sprouting great guitar overdubs from main man Dallas. He'll often change his own personal character, going gritty one day, hard and unrelenting the next, sometimes surprisingly supple, intriguing or soft-spoken.

Sure, it's a short cd, but it's a real Mary Poppins suitcase, considering all the damn loud lights they cram into the case. 'Eden Girl' is one of the longest tunes, a 5 minute guitar wash of Perkins pyrotechniques. Mike Russ helps out a bit on the backing vocals, but mostly it's electric rock barking on hard cider. 'Can't wake up this morning / Adam blame the Eden girl for ending life / Will the stained glass window light / bathe me in fire? / Yeah, in fire. Can she wash away, now, / wash away the crime?'

There are a couple of instrumentals, one beginning the cd by the name of 'Cut Out,' and one truly funky 'Reprise,' right on the heels of 'Eden Girl' which is my favorite, short though it is. Mainly because it reminds me of the current trash-thrash brand of progressive metal pitching through the universe on other cds at this very moment.

Lyrically, the songs tell of lost love, betrayal, high concepts deflated well past sea level, told often with a humor that is grim and unrelenting. A perfect share with the power chord pants that strut and fret the Dallas Perkins stage. Raw rock that's been left out overnight.

Bottom line: the hard stuff; for those into more intelligent words (and don't mind digging for them).

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