release date: Nov. 1984
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,16]
producer: Dalis Car, Steve Churchyard
label: Beggars Banquet - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Dalis Car" - 2. "His Box" - 4. "Artemis" - 6. "Moonlife" - 7. "The Judgement Is the Mirror"
[ full album ]
Studio album debut and only full album by the music project Dalis Car consisting of Peter Murphy on vocals, Mick Karn on bass and with Paul Vincent Lawford on percussion and drums. The band was established in the aftermath of the split of two major British bands: Japan with Mick Karn disbanded in 1982, leaving Karn free to release his first solo album and to work on different projects, and Bauhaus with Peter Murphy disbanded in 1983. The two then established the co-work for the new project, and later on invited Lawford to join.
The style is highly experimental and basically closer to the music by Japan. Karn's fretless bass signature is all over the album and Murphy's characteristic vocal adds a sinister tone to the generally light and ethereal, almost meditative compositions. I don't consider this a great work of art but it's highly original, unlike anything else, and works rather nicely as background noise.
The front cover is the painting, "Daybreak" by Maxfield Parrish. The band never released a follow-up as both Murphy and Karn were involved in solo projects. Japan re-united shortly as Rain Tree Crow and Bauhaus likewise had a period of re-union. In late 2010 Murphy and Karn finally got together again and began work on what was to be the second album by Dalis Car. They made managed to play a few sessions together but Karn who had recently been diagnosed with cancer, died in 2011. The 5-track ep InGladAloneness (excerpt) was released posthumously in 2012.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]
