Scorpio Rising

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Death in Vegas’ Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes created one of their finest records by combining synths with guitar rock and psychedelia. Two of these (the banjo-and-mandolin-contrasted "Killing Suite" and the droning "Help Yourself") feature former Mazzy Star crooner Hope Sandoval, and your appreciation of such is probably directly proportional to your nostalgia for "Fade Into You"-type atmospheric noir. The album was recorded at Death in Vegas' very own studio The Contino Rooms in early 2002, with the strings recorded at Trinity Wave Station in Chennai, India.

It may be no more embarrassing than any of the rock-band-in-electronic-clothes attempts sure to be thrust upon us in the coming months, but it's clear Death in Vegas don't have the recipe to the magic rock/electronic stew we've all been told to save our dancefloor moves for. A taste of “My Bloody Valentine” and some electro pulses are thrillingly constructed in the different parts of the album. Playlouder gave it one-and-a-half stars out of five and stated that in the album "there are a couple of standout tracks, and the rest falls on its arse. From Radiohead's voyages into squiggly experimentation and beatmongering, to the current Rapture school of hiring producers to apply a timely lacquer of club sauce, such acts are celebrated for their admirable attempts at forward-thinking.Other reviews are pretty average, mixed or negative: Q gave the album three stars out of five and stated: "There's no doubting their enthusiasm but it seems Death In Vegas have compiled a list of great cult albums rather than actually making one themselves. It was released on 16 September 2002 in the United Kingdom via Concrete Records, and on 17 June 2003 in the United States via Sanctuary Records. Filter gave it a score of 84% and said that the sounds "are equally rich and emotive, just not as goblin-esque [as The Contino Sessions]. Scorpio Rising" is used in a commercial by the Belgian mobile phone operator Base and at the end of the episode "Touch and Go" of ER. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast.

Well, I'm sure it could qualify as either, depending on what the artists achieve, but for Death in Vegas, it's the latter. Elsewhere, Paul Weller gets a paisley backdrop of his own, lending a chesty vocal to "If You Say You Lost Your Baby" that does well to approximate a roided-up Forever Changes, while slower material engages in grandiose displays of Indian-inflected orchestration, conducted by the mysteriously Bond-villain-sounding Dr.Pitchfork may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Lies" includes a sample from "Goin' Back" by The Byrds, written and composed by Carole King and Gerry Goffin.