Death In Vegas

Scorpio Rising (Sanctuary)
by Lex Marburger

Even though their first so-called hit sounded like it, Death in Vegas has never really been an “electro” band. Yeah, they’re mainly two people, yeah, they use computers a lot, but they like guitars and live drums too much. Case in point is Scorpio Rising, which only has one or two songs that could really be lumped in with the techno-fucks. DiV throw a lot of flavors into this one, from the opening, Spiritualized-fueled “Girls” to Mazzy Star guesting on the typically Mazzy-esque folk-pop (banjos and everything!) “Killing Smile.” They do take a step towards electroclash with “Hands Around my Throat,” although their approach is slightly more New Wave refined than, say, Peaches. Though this may sound like the infamous “shotgun spaghetti” approach to album-making (“let’s throw a bunch of different kinds of songs at the wall and see which one sticks”), Scorpio Rising approaches sounding coherent, even when switching from the Dandy Warhol-fronted-by-blue-eyed-soul “So You Say You Lost Your Baby” to the Sunday Morning Mazzy (again) Music Mix of “Help Yourself,” which starts as a quiet and pretty vibe, but builds and swells into a crashing triumphant epic, strings and all, much like the Chemical Brothers’ “Where Do I Begin?” Hmmm. Maybe there’s something to this electro label after all….
(www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.com)