The Pleasure Dome – Liminal Space 12″ EP (Hound Gawd! Records)

The Pleasure Dome recently released “Liminal Space,” a new six-track extended play that will immediately grab your attention and refuse to let go long after it ends. Published by the prolific German record label Hound Gawd Records, this superb material arrives in two variants, sky-marbled vinyl and a limited edition translucent neon pink vinyl. With their full-length album “Equinox,” The Pleasure Dome already established themselves as an outstanding band that always delivers premium music to the table, and this brand-new material arrives as a natural progression that vividly showcases their songwriting, composing, arranging, and producing abilities. For those stumbling upon this excellent band for the first time, The Pleasure Dome combines several complementary music genres into a cohesive whole. Perhaps grunge comes to mind first, but you’ll notice how some other elements borrowed from punk rock and alternative found their into this sonic equation. It’s needless to say that these experimentations suit them well, as the band showcases a fresh, unique, versatile style that will appeal to even the pickiest music enthusiasts.

They demonstrate their brilliant ideas and musicality right from the start with the two versions of “The Duke.” The first one serves more as an overture, paving the way for the excellent second version that reveals the rich and luxurious sound of The Pleasure Dome. It’s a calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal composition that hides many arpeggiated and regular chord progressions drenched into generous servings of raw, abrasive, fuzzy distortion. The entire song structure showcases their songwriting abilities, as each detailed segment arrives with many brilliant ideas and cleverly assembled orchestrations. You’ll hear how the bass guitar rumbles beneath those guitar layers, offering more heaviness, clarity, and depth to the mix while the superb drumming keeps the remainder of the band in line with expertly assembled and flawlessly performed beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics. Both versions of “The Duke” prepare listeners for a magnificent grungy punk rock voyage, stacked with everything you dearly love about those music genres.

“Your Fucking Smile” brings fresh ideas and energy to the table with fast-paced rhythmic structures, vividly hearable low-ends, and catchy guitar works. The vocals are slightly pitched, complementing the chord progressions to the max while seamlessly balancing low, mid, and high notes with precision and finesse. It’s a proper punk rock track with a touch of hardcore included along the way. “Sugar” goes even deeper into experimentation with different music genres. You’ll notice how The Pleasure Dome included some country, folk, and southern rock sonic maneuvers, with stripped-down arrangements solely focused on vocals and guitars. Like previous tracks, it’s safe to say this style suits them well too, as they handle these styles like pros. “A Shoulder To Cry On” delivers familiar grunge sonic maneuvers decorated with some of the finest elements borrowed from noise rock, post-punk, and punk rock. You’ll notice how distorted basslines perfectly complement the guitars, while the multiple vocal layers and singalongs uplift everything on an entirely new level. This particular track will be a treat for all the nineties noise rock and grunge music, as The Pleasure Dome included all those noisy, heavy, powerful instrumentations that define those music genres. This EP closes with “Suicide,” another folk rock-inspired alt-rock track where the stripped-down arrangements work to the advantage of the vocal harmonies. Although the band solely focused on acoustic chord progressions, you’ll notice some rawness on choruses achieved by adding subtle amounts of distortion. It’s such an excellent closure of a superb EP release.

The Pleasure Dome never ceases to amaze. Their music resonates on so many levels and you can hear how these experienced and talented musicians poured heart and soul into every track included within this marvelous material. It’s a must-have for all true grunge, punk rock, and alternative rock fans. Head to Hound Gawd! Records for more information about ordering.