Review Summary: Pacifisticuffs shows a partial shift in both sound and direction that feels more like a downgrade rather than an improvement. For a number of reasons outside its lineup change, this album delivers an unsatisfactory experience.
After Pandora’s Piñata in 2012 and its respective cycle, little was heard from Diablo Swing Orchestra. Few interviews confirmed that the band wasn’t done for, and that there was interest in creating new material. However, the general lack of news and the sudden change of pace suggested that something was not quite right. Finally, in 2014 it was announced that the lead opera singer Annlouice Lögdlund was leaving the band, and soon after that, a soprano singer by the name of Kristin Evegård was announced to be her replacement. A new song titled “Jigsaw Hustle” (which would become the first single of Pacfisitcuffs) was released showcasing her voice, and the promise of a new album was made.
The new song gave us the opportunity to listen to a new side of DSO, for the robust, strong, and aggressive voice of an opera singer was replaced by the refined, sweet and modern voice of a soprano (a voice more akin to the jazz genres the band incorporates in its sound). It was an unexpected move for DSO to throw away one of the key ingredients of its well-established formula in hiring a different type of voice rather than a direct replacement. In the end though, “Jigsaw Hustle” hinted that DSO was after a new type of sound, not far away from their previous efforts but something fresh and coherent with its new voice. Enter Pascifistcuffs, an album that feels like a new beginning for the band and that serves as the first paragraph in a new chapter of DSO history. An album that aside from its female singer, it features a series of changes in the band’s sound and direction, trying to offer an alternative take to its distinctive sound while showing some new content impossible to conceive with it’s previous lineup.
Right from the start of the album one can tell that the biggest change lies in the overall co-existence of the instruments. Indeed, the guitars have been severely toned down. Their priority has been downgraded as for the most part, they act more as a backup instrument duplicating what the bass does rather than creating their own heavy music. The drums and the brass section feel a bit more discrete than ever before, trying to keep the explosions of sound at bay. Kristin’s voice, which delivers most of the vocal work, is upfront and serves as the lead in most of the music in the album. The string section provides backup to the voice and serve as the lead in most of the instrumental bridges.
In the composition department, Pascifistcuffs tries to match the styles of its predecessors while showing new material exploiting the potential of its new soprano singer. Indeed, “The Age of Vulture Culture” is an almost Mexican influenced song with strong emphasis on brass and drum work that feels very reminiscent to “Guerilla Laments”. “Karma Bonfire” is the signature swing song that draws direct comparison to “Vodoo mon Amour” or “Ballrog Boogie” and the now fan favorite “Superhero Jagganath” features some nice throwbacks to the early days of the band. “Climbing the Eyewall” with it’s creepy and eerie string work tries to close the album in a similar manner as “Justice For Saint Mary” did on Pandora’s Piñata. In the other hand, “Lady Clandestine Chainbreaker” it’s a jazzy film-noir-esque song and a match made in heaven with Kristin’s voice; likewise “Interruption”, which has a slow jazzy “cabaresque” vibe. A re-recorded version of “Jigsaw Hustle” (a disco flavored tune) shows a side of the band impossible to conceive when Annalouice was part of the equation.
With all this elements, Pacfisitcuffs feels like an album that aims to refine and tame DSO signature sound, trying to offer an easier and less strident experience than before. The explosions of sound and colors found on this album are not as abundant as in Sing Along or Pandora’s Piñata, and while those albums felt more like a party that went all guns blazing from start to finish, Pacfisitcuffs feels like a more sober experience showing it’s heavy and bombastic moments in a few selected moments. Nevertheless, this new direction feels more like a downgrade rather than an expansion or a refinement, a step backwards considering everything the band has done up to this point. Indeed, DSO feels “chained” and afraid to let it all out as before, resulting in an experience that never takes off. Many of the songs (“Lady Clandestine Chainbeaker” comes to mind) build so much momentum for an instrumental bridge full of metal and orchestral aggressiveness, however the guitars never quite deliver, resulting in many disappointments and an overall feeling that something is missing. Frustration lies in every corner as this new direction forbids anything outside the voice of going over the top. The “swing with a heavy metal twist” motto feels inconsistent, as Pascifistcuffs is substantially less aggressive than its predecessors and its heavy moments can hardly be considered metal.
Two other issues contribute to this overall unsatisfactory experience. The mixing of the album feels muddy and nasal, which cripples any instrument on the lower range (obscuring the guitar and drum work even more) and delivers a type of sound that can be best described as sterile. Raising the mid frequencies in any equalizer can liven up things and provide the much needed clarity and crispness, however this only highlights how minimalistic DSO work has. Aside from that, the constant change of pace of the album and the amount of interruptions existing between many of its songs is nerve wrecking. Indeed, after an average opener and two songs that set a pace similar to Pandora’s Piñata, a one minute “something” shows up (“Vision of the Purblind”) to act as an intro for a slow fifth song, then a sixth song tries to recover the album’s first momentum and gets interrupted by 34 seconds of non musical sound (“Pulse of the Incipient”) that tries to act as an introduction to Kristen’s slow paced highlight. A ninth song recovers some of the pace until its end only to have ANOTHER break in the form of a one minute orchestral song (“Cul-De-Sac Semantics”) that serves as an intro to the signature swing song “Karma Bonfire” which pales in comparison to “Vodoo mon Amour” or to “A Tap Dancer’s Dilemma”. By this time, the album is almost over, and a twelfth song tries to close the album only to get interrupted by a forty second banjo tune that goes nowhere and has little relation to anything.
By the non-climatic end one starts to wonder where the rest of the material is or when the connection with the music got lost. Playing the album again and again in hope of answering this questions leads to one final inquiry: is this a worthy follow up to a monster like Pandora’s Piñata? If Pacifisticuffs would be the band’s first or second album, the perception could be slightly different (problems with its pace and the mix would still be an issue), however this is not the case. One can try really hard to imagine Pacifisticuffs as a reinterpretation or a reboot of the band, but it’s very difficult to ignore everything DSO has achieved in more than 10 years. In the end, songs found in this album that are reminiscent to DSO previous work have been done bigger and better by DSO, and a new direction that feels too afraid to go all affects the new material.
Not all is lost as there are some positives things to say about this album. Pacifistcuffs isn’t a cheap product; the production values seem to be high, as the band has upgraded its instrument arsenal both in quality and quantity. It is also worth noting that DSO changed its formula without losing its identity or excellent musicianship in the process. Indeed, songs like “The Age of Vulture Culture” and “Superhero Jugganauth” prove that the band still has its mojo and that is far from forgetting their achievements. Also, this whole experience proves that Kristin is more than capable of handling the gig, and that her talented voice is going to be the compass for DSO to pursue new land to conquer. Fresh material like “Lady Clandestine Chainbreaker” or “Interruption” shows progress on the signature sound and paints an interesting future.
