Gust of Wind # 6
Night Control, Death Control
This gust of wind brings something different to the air.
Christopher Curtis Smith is Night Control – a one man project that uses anything in its sites to bring a fresh new sound to the table, one that gives the (middle) finger to musical traditions.
This record has a liberating quality to it, similar to the Velvet Undergrounds early recordings. Throughout this (19 track) lo-fi adventure, the listener is treated with off-tempo arrangements, loud distortions, random yelling, and excessive noise, which all comes out of left field. But that’s the beauty of this record; it’s almost anarchistic, if you will. His vocals are near impossible to understand, they come from every part of the song, and the instrumentation follow suit. It’s bold, refreshing, and manages to express imperfection as a virtue we have all forgotten.
There are some familiar groves and guitar riffs in this collection, some that sound right out of a Led Zeppelin play book. The opening track “Good Looks” is great way to start this record; it has very groovy bass drum that kicks right in. Going into the second track, “Know the Peasant” gives us a rock appeal, similar to the previous musical reference, but ultimately ends abruptly, giving it an unfinished quality, which is a consistent premise behind this (mysterious) Artist.
Night Control might not be on its way to stardom with Death Control, but it’s safe to say he doesn’t care. Death Control is a rebellious effort that comes with a jumbled bag of goodies – imperfection has never sounded so beautiful.
– Ryan Boos, September 4, 2009