Deathconsciousness

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Deathconsciousness
Have a nice life deathconsciousness.jpg
Studio album by
Have a Nice Life
ReleasedJanuary 24, 2008 (2008-01-24)
Recorded2002 - 2007
Genre
Length85:04
LabelEnemies List Home Recordings
Have a Nice Life chronology
Deathconsciousness
(2008) 		Time of Land
(2010)
2009 reissue album cover
Deathconsciousness reissue.png
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Sputnikmusic4.5/5 stars[2]

Deathconsciousness is the debut studio album by American band Have a Nice Life, released on January 24, 2008 on Enemies List Home Recordings.[5] Deathconsciousness is a double album;[6] the first disc is entitled "The Plow That Broke the Plains", the second is entitled "The Future". The original cover art features a darkened version of the painting The Death of Marat. The album was reissued in 2009 by Enemies List, re-pressing the album on vinyl and CD, with new cover art. The reissue included a 70-page booklet with various paintings and lyrics.[7] Another reissue of Deathconsciousness was released September 17, 2014 by Enemies List and The Flenser.[8]

Composition and music[]

Bandmember Dan Barrett was quoted as saying, "The lyrics were written simultaneously with the songs, though I tend to work in scraps... I'm constantly writing, then culling pieces that I think fit the music to build entire songs around. At the time I had a job where I would have to be into work at 4:30 in the morning, alone in a giant building, at a desk in front of a giant window. I wrote reams and reams during that time."[9] Regarding how the project came to fruition, Barrett remarked that "We didn’t have a grand plan for it. A couple things ended up happening. We were recording songs and we had a bunch of stuff we didn’t know what to do with. We had a lot of material always because we would just get together and always write new stuff, and never work on the old stuff. I think it started coming together as a project, like my dad passed away and I think that sort of threw things sharply into focus."[1]

In an online Q&A session, Barrett commented on the notoriously lo-fi sound achieved on the album, mentioning how "a lot of Deathconsciousness was recorded through the pinhole mic on [his] laptop".[10] The whole album was recorded with a budget of less than 1,000 USD.[1]

The album's style has been described as dark ambient and gothic-rock; its tone "apocalyptic".[11] Deathconsciousness is a concept album;[12] Jayson Heller of Pitchfork identified the thesis of the album as the view that "Existence is bleak, gallows humor undergirds it, and sometimes wallowing in that sick paradox is the best revenge".[13]

Release[]

Alongside the album, a 70-page booklet was released.[14]

Reception and legacy[]

Despite expecting it to linger in obscurity,[15] the album has, in the years following its release, gained a substantial cult following, especially in online music communities such as 4chan's /mu/, the website's imageboard for musical discussion, where it is considered an "essential" album.[1][15] The album is also acclaimed on the Reddit community r/Indieheads.[15] Mike LeSuer of Flood magazine described the album as a "meme-worthy cultural moment".[16] As of 2019, the album had been re-issued seven times.[15] Also in 2019, the band performed the album in its entirety at the Dutch metal festival Roadburn.[15]

The opening track "A Quick One Before the Eternal Worm Devours Connecticut" was sampled by American rapper Lil Peep on his song "Shiver", about which bandmember Tim Macuga remarked, “I recorded that guitar part in my bathtub and now it’s on the front page of Us Weekly for a rapper’s eulogy.”[17]

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga.

The Plow That Broke the Plains
No.TitleLength
1."A Quick One Before the Eternal Worm Devours Connecticut"7:52
2."Bloodhail"5:40
3."The Big Gloom"8:07
4."Hunter"9:45
5."Telefony"4:38
6."Who Would Leave Their Son out in the Sun?"5:19
7."There Is No Food"4:00
Total length:45:21
The Future
No.TitleLength
8."Waiting for Black Metal Records to Come in the Mail"6:17
9."Holy Fucking Shit: 40,000"6:29
10."The Future"3:50
11."Deep, Deep"5:25
12."I Don't Love"6:13
13."Earthmover"11:28
Total length:39:42

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Have a Nice Life's 'Deathconsciousness' Is the Next Greatest Album of All Time". Vice. 2014-11-24.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Have A Nice Life - Deathconsciousness (album review)". Sputnikmusic. 2008-01-30.
  3. ^ Goodridge, Hayden (2019-08-27). "Have a Nice Life Announce New Album Sea of Worry, Share Lead Single". Paste. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  4. ^ Goodridge, Hayden (2019-08-27). "Have a Nice Life Announce New Album Sea of Worry, Share Lead Single". Paste. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  5. ^ "ENEMIES LIST HOME RECORDINGS » shoegaze/doom/drone/whatever. Since 2005". Enemies List Home Recordings. Archived from the original on 2008-04-07. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  6. ^ Gotrich, Lars (December 11, 2013). "This Song Is For Throwing Stuff Out The Window". NPR. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  7. ^ "Have A Nice Life - "Deathconsciousness" (Repress)". Enemies List Home Recordings. Archived from the original on 2013-02-21.
  8. ^ "Have a Nice Life "Deathconsciousness" DLP reissue Pre-sale INFO". The Flenser. 2014-07-02.
  9. ^ "Interviews: Have A Nice Life". Scenepointblank. 2010-08-16.
  10. ^ Barrett, Dan. "Dan Barrett /mu/ Q&A". Youtube.
  11. ^ Goodridge, Hayden (2019-08-27). "Have a Nice Life Announce New Album Sea of Worry, Share Lead Single". Paste. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  12. ^ Manno, Lizze (2020-01-14). "10 Experimental Bands Who Are Redefining Guitar Music". Paste. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  13. ^ Heller, Jayson (February 6, 2014). "Have a Nice Life: The Unnatural World". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  14. ^ Gordon, Arielle (November 12, 2019). "Have a Nice Life: Sea of Worry". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Lyons, Patrick (2019-11-11). "Have a Nice Life On Their Anxiety-Driven Third Album, "Sea of Worry"". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  16. ^ LeSuer, Mike (January 4, 2021). "Signal Boost: 15 Tracks from December 2020 You Should Know". Filter (magazine). Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  17. ^ "Have A Nice Life Aren't Joking". Kerrang!. 2019-03-22.
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