Sado-Dometics have released another winsome, intriguing album, Camouflage, based on words used in stories by writer T.J. Gerlach Although their writing experiment is interesting, Sado-Domestics accomplish another major task. Their unique sound on this album raises their artistry, their status, and it should, on this album, bring them more recognition and a wider audience.
Opening cut “Dusk” skips along to merry mandolin snaps, Lucy Martinez’s vocal moving brightly, finding just the right space to lay out her contemplative lyrics. Whatever Chris Gleason uses for drums here makes a catchy slap as sounds are created by rubbing a pick along guitar strings or by bowing them. It all adds up to one enticing piece.
“Shale” follows the peaks and valleys of Eric Royer’s pedal steel, a petty landscape dotted by Jimmy Ryan’s candy mandolin notes. Christopher Gleason’s dark, gravel voice roll contrasts perfectly with the sloping, expanding musical movements around him.
The beat driven, perky electric guitar decorated “Hands” combines a rock and roll attitude with a pretty country line from Eric Royer’s pedal steel. Martinez belts out the chorus, a burst of energy, as the vigorous instrumentation become edgier. This one rocks right out.
Banjo grit, mandolin flint, and two haunting vocals draws one right into the eerie landscape of “Shades.” It’s all in the slapping action from acoustic strumming augmented by mysterious pedal steel and primitive percussion action from the traps. It’s a cool segue into “Phantom Punch,” a soulful, considerately paced number. Sado-Domestics mosey along, emitting as they go rippling mandolin notes, tight piano tinkling and a percussive hit that takes its sweet time along with everything else here. The amount of feeling this combo gives off, even in this sparser, slower piece impresses.
Feeling like a 1960s pop rock number with its brittle groove and a Martinez easy grooving vocal glide, “Galaxy” moves in its own light. Gleason’s mash of percussive organ, bass, and whatever else he has swirling around. This one is a sweet ditty that makes one wish it was twice as long.
“Love Letter, or Lepidoptery” moves to a fun electric guitar chord progression, a wavy wave of sound. Martinez, who sings in a tight framework set up by this guitar, becomes a fetching eye of the storm when a second electric guitar presses out a looser, wilder line. The blowing winds of guitar around her steady successions of vocals, sustains, and coos deliver a lot of cool vibe.
“Corridor” slows to pleasant crawl. At this pace Martinez shows her voice without a lot of accompaniment. Her beautiful vocal rises up even in this low key approach. There is something effectively strong in her gentle assertions. Mellow guitar work rings out with pleasant, colorful notes and chords in a take its time pace. There is an undeniable upward swoop of emotion with in this seemingly mellow, quiet piece.
Steeped in country music idioms, “Deep Blue” finds Gleason and Martinez singing in that twangy timbre range as Jimmy Ryan’s mandolin ushers them in procession. Eric Royer’s pedal steel weeps gently to fill out the space with more tender sentiment. It’s a treat for the ears how this song is organically constructed with instrumentation that reigns in expansiveness while creating an expansive feeling.
“Photographs” grabs our attention with authentic dark guitar tones contrasting with Martinez’s subtle voice. She’s low key, keeping her coos, sustains, and phrasing even, mellow. When a weave of instruments and that toneful electric rings out, we feel even more deeply what her song is about. . Well placed drum fills keep this perfectly paced as the upper registers release their tasty rustic accented notes.
A tumbleweed motion rolls together everything on “Everyone Is From The Past,” a moody honkytonk lead guitar, a snappy banjo, and a candy sweet twist of mandolin notes. Gleason and Martinez are almost whispering their duet, another way in which this moves in low key fashion, grooving slowly, releasing nuggets of voice and acoustic instrumentation to make one envision cool dudes and sultry women moving down the sidewalk in slow motion with their crew.
Gleason’s lead guitar rings out with a compelling tone and an arcing phrase that drapes itself grandly over close out track “Apocalypse.” Other instrument progressions form a percussive groove and it feels as familiar as a tap on the shoulder. It’s the feeling of personal intimacy this song creates that makes one want to listen to it over and over again.
Sado-Domestics, aside from their word choice experiment for their lyrics, have come up with pure listening bliss. This camouflage album takes idioms from rock and roll and Americana roots music and meshes them together with an intriguing approach to using acoustic and electric instruments. Sado-Domestics just keep getting better and better. Especially good is Gleason’s production work at his Noise Floor Delirium studio in Boston, Massachusetts.
