Dead Can Dance – Frontier. “I see the proud man”.
I was intrigued to see that this Dead Can Dance song came up when I typed frontier into my music search. (It was that or The Corrs, The Avalanches or Loop Guru). In some ways younger than Donald Fagen, in other ways much older – in the music influences they pursue. One a maximalist music production, the other much more still and focussed around a few austere instruments.
Deep humming and drumming on an old can with knee bells chinking is what the opening sounds like. Then the singing starts – what sounds like Cocteau-like made-up words actually have meaning.
I like the tin can battering, together with the distant hammering , it contrasts nicely with the haunted cathedral acoustic humming. On this occasion, Liza Gerrard’s vocals don’t do anything for me.
How might the two songs relate? Well, I suppose the Dead Can Dance one could be from the woman’s perspective on the morning after the night before with Donald.
“The bloodstains on the floor.
He left, he’s left.
He’s gone today,
He’s gone back”
That would match with what I’ve heard of the sleazy reputation of Steely Dan, even if it is mere coincidence.
Musically, the more I listen to the Dead Can Dance track, the more Fondly I remember the Donald Fagen song for the lasting impression that the complex interweaving instruments left after multiple listens. Like many Dead Can Dance songs, it’s good to have in the air around, creating an instant atmosphere. But the impression fades as soon as the track ends. I like the band, but more their later stuff, particularly Aion.
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