Gone Gone Beyond is the project headed by Los Angeles-based electronic musician, multi-instrumentalist, and producer David Block (aka The Human Experience) in collaboration with guitarist Paul Weinfield and vocalist Danny Musengo (of The Ludlow Thieves). This self-titled six-track debut EP by this collective is not the sort that would come to mind when you think of a project by an \u201celectronic music composer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gone Gone Beyond<\/i> is not a dance record. In fact, the songs here are slow. For an electronic music album, there are tons of live instruments \u2013 guitar, violin, trumpet, double bass, cello, piano, viola, and flute \u2013 and eclectic musical styles covered.<\/p>\n
In addition, singer Danny Musengo is not quite the polished and sultry vocalist that one would find on an electronic music album. His already raspy voice sounds even more jarring on this EP\u2019s stripped-down and lazy songs. He sounds like an inebriated Bob Dylan, fit only to sing in the public bathroom that\u2019s featured on the EP cover.<\/p>\n
However, unglamorous and unflattering as it might be, Musengo\u2019s vocals sound absolutely beautiful here. As a matter of fact, his voice, which lacks any pretension whatsoever, is soulful and touching. The choice of Musengo as the lead vocalist is the best thing about this EP, which is equally weird and beautiful, even musically.<\/p>\n
The amalgamation of the miscellaneous styles and instruments, combined with the EP\u2019s electronic music backdrop, could have had a strange outcome. But this is not so, thanks to the sophisticated song arrangements and the brilliant production, which make the complexities in the music sound smooth and simple.<\/p>\n
The opening track \u201cAint Givin\u2019 Up On Love\u201d is sparse and quirky, featuring comical percussive sounds. It has a Cure-like balance of eccentricity and melancholia, with the melancholia part provided by Musengo\u2019s earnest vocals.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder Siege\u201d is this EP\u2019s answer to a dance number. But despite being beat-driven, this is more of a peacefully serene track than a loud partying one, consisting of soothing female guest vocals (courtesy Kalibri) and a gorgeously tranquil violin part. <\/p>\n
\u201cBackswing\u201d is the most interesting song on this EP. It starts off with Musengo\u2019s smoky vocals and a sultry guitar lick, sounding as if he is performing in one of those seedy bars that you see in the movies where a crime is almost certain to happen. The song then becomes more upbeat, with the trumpet kicking in and the violin playing alongside, sounding like fun Appalachian mountain music \u2013 a total 180 degree turn.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere For A Moment\u201d \u2013 the very first track to come out of this collaboration \u2013 is the EP\u2019s most challenging song and also its most rewarding\u2026once you understand it. This meditatively slow number seems never-ending, even though it is just five minutes long. It is the disc\u2019s Zen-song, with its laidback jazzy vibe dominated by a heavy double bass sound and the lyrics like \u201cHere for a moment, then float away; tomorrow child, you may be gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarnival\u201d is another conventional electronic cut. Similar to \u201cUnder Siege,\u201d this song is also driven by a dance beat and is also quite chilled out despite its fast tempo. <\/p>\n
The concluding \u201cLong Day\u201d is a totally odd track here. This is a sentimental, folksy number, not consisting of any percussion or beats. It is mainly driven by violins and strings, as well as some flutes that sound cheesy. Although this eight-minute long song is the EP\u2019s least desirable cut, the element of unpredictability that it adds to the disc certainly makes it worthwhile.<\/p>\n
Gone Gone Beyond<\/i> is like an unexpected pleasant surprise in one\u2019s music collection. The collaboration between Block, Musengo, and Weinfield is truly unique, and these guys should make music together more often.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":33277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[10065],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-45087","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-gone-gone-beyond","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=45087"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=45087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}