Dead can dance was founded in 1981 in Melbourne, Australia, but moved the next year to London. Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard are the two consistent members, but guest musicians are added per album. Anastasis (“Resurrection” in Greek) is the eighth album, made after a hiatus of fourteen years in 2012. Perry and Gerrard were a couple, but they separated in 1998, cancelling tour dates for the upcoming album Spiritchaser.
I do like their sound. They have a kind of ethereal, a bit gothic sound reminiscent of the Cocteau Twins. Lisa Gerrard is also known for the soundtracks of some movies, like Gladiator. Seeing the band live in 2012 came with disappointment: it turned out Gerrard and Perry might be good with each other while making music, but as soon as they’re finished, they rush off the stage, never to be seen again. They seemed to me like little kids that had an argument.
I bought this record in Haarlem, at a time I was working there. When I came home to listen to it, the record sounded like it was full of scratches and surface noise. It seems to me like they were pressing too many records with one stamper. Those always have a maximum number of records they can handle, after which they are no longer ‘sharp’. They lose their edges, and this noisy sound is the result. Clean it however much you want, it will never go away. So this record is a bust.