Decoder Ring
2002


THE BRAG 26/05/03
CD of the Week
****
Zolton Zavos
The opening instrumental, Welcome Shoppers is a good reminder of just why Decoder Ring are considered to be at the forefront of the new pop/electronic movement in Australia. Their simple, Synth-heavy sound that clashes, in parts, with fiercely distorted guitars, is a welcome panacea to the endless recent wave of garage rock. On this self-titled album they mix it up nicely from the pure pop of Ether to the light and harmonious glory of Superego. This is a real 80s European sound, straying far from the bastions of Oz pub rock and instead following in the warm tradition of acts such as Depeche Mode and Joy Division, though with a somewhat menacing edge.


SYDNEY MORNING HERALD 22/02/03
Bernard Zuel
The debut album from local outfit is a hugely impressive album that straddles electronica, rock, arthouse and deancefloor, and does it not just with bravado but finesse. Decoder Ring's elements are rich; rhythm patterns aren't merely from drum machines but tuned and untuned percussion; keyboards strech from pulsing Kraftwerk-like modes to squelchy house to sonic blasts and tinkling pianos; guitars and electric bass can be quite melodic or add a vibrant, assertive rock tone that can take material into tough territory. Vocals are rare but when they appear they merge into the soundscape rather than dominate. Decoder Ring share some territory with the art rock of such groups such as Tortoise and the interesting electronica coming out of Europe in the past five years, but there's definitely 70s krautrock in the background, too, particularly with the opening track Welcome Shoppers, where you see the strong dance moves and openness to disturbance of a Neu! or Can. Indeed in Colossus one of only two vocal tracks, the disturbance becomes quite forceful, more akin to say paranoid trip hopper Tricky playing with Sonic Youth.


LUCKY October 2002
G.H.
Every now and again a disk finds it's way into the Lucky office that absolutely blows us all away, Decoder Ring is just that sort of disc. These six guys from Sydney town have pieced together one of the most seamless and powerfully uplifting instrumental offerings we've heard from a local in years. Vocals would be wasted on music that communicates this articulately, as moods shift from introspective to joyously anthemic all in the one motion. Sprawling soundscapes that utilise sounds so engaging that you just can't help feeling transported to a higher plane of higher plane of sonic bliss. I can only begin to imagine what these guys must be like live. Very fuckin' nice!


THE MUSIC NETWORK 24/3/03
Natalie Kemp
One of the most inventive groups to come out of Sydney in some time, the five musicians that make up Decoder Ring are busy trailing a path all their own. Taking inspiration from the worlds of rock and electronica with a bit of psychedelic wandering along the way, Decoder Ring make emotional, dream-filled music that places them alongside acts such as Mogwai, Air and Pink Floyd, all the time sounding like nothing you've already heard before. Already a favourite on the live scene with their stirring tracks and compelling visuals, Ether features the haunting vocals of Tylea and an uplifting melody that's found a rightful home of triple J and could do the same at CHR.


FILMINK Dec/Jan 03
Jackie Shannon
On their debut album, Sydney five-piece Decoder Ring offer the kind of depth-of-sound usually only witnessed in bands a few albums into their career. It's a great cliché to describe a group-s sound as 'unclassifiable', but in the case of Decoder Ring, it's actually improbably apt. For starters, they're an instrumental act, which is rare enough in itself, but they also cut across nearly every facet of modern music. They peel in musical styles as diverse as pop, rock, electronica and what is now sometimes referred to as 'cinematic' and they make it all work seamlessly. The musicianship is tighter than tight, and this makes for a highly auspicious debut.


DB magazine
We Liked It And You Will Too
Sasha Pazeski
Debut albums can be a bit of a hit and miss affair. A band in its infancy often falls prey to all manner of generalizations and categorizing and are often prone to releasing sub-standard debuts, which totally belie their capabilities. I'm sure those listening to Pablo Honey for the first time would never have imagined Radiohead going on and recording an album as significant as OK Computer. Thankfully Decoder Ring have done the opposite... Combining elements from pop, rock, dance, electronica and a multitude of other styles makes it impossible to categorise exactly what Decoder Ring are. The Sydney five piece possess that special talent of building on musical ideas then moving on to something more interesting at precisely the moment the previous idea begins to verge on boredom. And they do it so bloody well, which makes for one very interesting and sonically beautiful album... moving blissfully through seven more tracks of elegance, rock, dance and more polyphonic synths than you could poke a stick at. With such an outstanding selection of songs, it's hard to pick out a favorite, but my money's on the oddly timed Mysterious Liquid. Hell, who am I kidding? They're all my favorites and every listen provides a little something more to like. So if you buy one Australian release this year, you'd be a fool if you passed this album up. Really. It's that good.


TIME OFF
Nick Coppack
Decoder Ring don't just play music - they create dense sonic soundscapes, rich in atmosphere and intensity. But while this year's Spooky Action At A Distance EP drew listeners into an ambient world punctuated with only the odd flash of urgency, Decoder Ring's debut album sees the band shift its focus to a highly-charged fusion of post-rock guitar riffs and disco beats... Too often instrumental music is labeled boring, repetitive and inaccessible. Decoder Ring are none of the above. Ignore this album and you'll be shutting the door on one of the country's most innovative and exciting acts of modern times.


NOISE THEORY
*****
Electro-rock dreamscapes. This Sydney 7-piece are fast building a reputation as one of the most intriguing underground bands in Australia. Following up 2001's Spooky Action At A Distance EP with this self-titled album, Decoder Ring don't create music - they explore it... Comparisons have been made to Air, Pink Floyd and Radiohead, however Decoder Ring are in a league all of their own, blending multiple styles and influences together to form their sound, which could be best described as electro-rock dreamscapes. Having said that the sound is dreamy, there are definitely no lazy or tired moments on the release, with every single effect right down to the symbols and the scarce vocals being put their for a reason, all impacting on the ears. There are only two songs on the album that feature vocals, but even then, the focus is on the music and not on voice. Original is not a word that can be thrown around easily, however Decoder Ring define it... Decoder Ring manage to incorporate so many styles of music together that the end result sounds like a new genre all on it's own. There's metal, rock, latin, dance, punk, dreamscape, ambiance, experimental and fuck knows what else, however if there's one note to make from Decoder Ring's self-titled album it would be that there is now proof that electronica can live side-by-side with rock without the end result sounding cheesy or overproduced.


REVOLVER
Best Albums 2002
Mike Gee
Instrumental music is hard to pull off at the best of times but this outstanding debut is all class and maturity loaded with good ideas and smart arrangements. Massive potential.