The first full length self-titled EP by Binghamton’s Pleasure Dome is a brooding album that incorporates surf, psychedelic, punk, and rock. The members on this album are Brandon Musa, Cydney Edwards, Matt Payton, Peter Ives and Jeff Howard, with additional instrumentation by Jimmy Booker, Adam Spektor and Jason Gerycz. It was released in September on Healthy Dose Records.
The guitars across the album are awash with beautiful spring and slapback reverbs, bringing an ethereal element to the slower songs and a manic feeling to the faster punk tracks. Cyd’s vocals move through the album like oil in water, organically shimmering, melding with the instruments but standing out in all the right ways. The songs pull you in with washy, dreamy textures, paired with driving beats like in songs “Do The Specter” or “Hot Wheels.” Other songs have a sweaty, dirty atmosphere, like the main riff of “Swamp Thing” and the verses of “Water Blades,” reminding me of the atmosphere The Cramps captured in their songs.
The album combines elements often at opposite ends of the genre spectrum: dreamy ethereal textures and fast driving punk beats. But the song that caught my ear the most is the last track, “Spider.” The guitar that launches the song is distant but bites down hard, the pick scrape that slowly builds with the drums dropping into a dreamscape. The bass and drums pulse together while the vocals float above. The way the B section pulls back to a minimalist floor tom, bass and guitar groove tees the song up perfectly to move back into the main riff. Throughout the song you hear a subtly rattling tambourine, adding a sizzle to build tension. The first two-thirds of the song wade through what feels like an Ennio Morricone fever dream, but the last third slowly ramps up the tempo into a feeling of hopeful relief. The longest song on the album, its arc is certainly a strong way to end Pleasure Dome’s debut effort.
Stream the album on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music etc.
Follow the band on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e.dome/
Upcoming shows listed on their Bandcamp https://pleasuredomemusic.bandcamp.com/album/pleasure-dome