Dhidalah - NO WATER

Reviewed by Joseph Murphy.

Up next from the inimitable Guruguru Brain is Dhidalah’s NO WATER. At the head of the latest wave of heavy, experimental space rock is Japan’s Dhidalah, whose members masterfully balance the intense beauty of the genre with the free-form harshness. Guitarist Ikuma Nawabe – who did a stint with Church of Misery – takes lead against a tumultuous rhythm section (bassist Gotoh and drummer Konstantine) as they propel themselves through a dense, alien atmosphere.

Unlike many of their counterparts, Dhidalah – for this listener – focuses more on the sculpted atmospheres as a continuation of the funereal, pounding doom rather than a calm between heavy waves. As rewarding as each of the grinding passages can be, equally moving are the atmospheric repetitions that build organically toward heavy, sonic release. Even at their most atmospheric, with their lightest touch, the trio still manages to raze structures and wrinkle landmass, destroy and build at will.

Composed of two long tracks, NO WATER fits squarely in the established realm, yet something about its focus sounds different. Opener, “GRB” gives a soft start to a heady album, but it’s not long before it rips into a reverb-drenched heave, complete with a gritty pick slide and double bass kicks, which tirelessly presses onward until its close.

NO WATER’s eponymous track is where the band truly shows their diverse skills though. At its halfway mark, “NO WATER” percolates, wobbling around a resonating calm before returning in dense, pounding doom. The shift is natural and necessary – and when it all falls away again, that, too, is a needed reprieve before the next wave of noise. Dhidalah knows these boundaries and savors them throughout.

Despite having formed a decade ago, this is Dhidalah’s proper debut; you’ll find a demo out there and their significant contribution – a nearly 20-minute song – on Guruguru Brain’s 2014 compilation (a “Name Your Price” download).

NO WATER is available below; look for the limited edition 10” vinyl or digital formats.