On-stage,
Dismantled is a quartet consisting of two keyboardists, a bassist, and a drummer. But in the studio, it's bandleader Gary Zon all by himself, creating an interesting sound that comes across as a surprisingly engaging amalgam of the abrasive and the attractive. Zon's vocal approach is growly and harsh -- it doesn't actually involve much actual singing, frankly, and most listeners may find it a challenge to get past the guttural screeching of this album's opening track, "Armed and Ready." But those who do will be rewarded with moments of genuine beauty, some of them presented during occasional breaks in the aggro-industrial maelstrom and others, more interestingly, juxtaposed within it. On "Consumer," for example, the jittery robo-rhythms and multi-layered vocal grunting suddenly wind down like a broken toy and then give way to a surprisingly hooky chorus before lapsing back into dark industrialism. "Shelter," on the other hand, starts out in a relatively approachable mode before going all
Peter Gabriel on us, with pensive piano and voice almost alone in the mix, then descending into brutal chaos. Not for the fainthearted, this is an unusually complex and ultimately rewarding aggro-industrial project by an impressive young talent. ~ Rick Anderson