SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE PLEASURE DOME – LIMINAL SPACE

THE PLEASURE DOME
LIMINAL SPACE
HOUND GAWD! RECORDS

The Pleasure Dome formed in 2019 in Bristol in the U.K. For a three-piece band, they certainly make a strong and loud noise. They have a distinct post-punk punk sound full of energy, grinding guitars, and angry lyrics. The perfect recipe for the band. Liminal Space is their most recent EP, and it packs a punch.

The EP opens with the crowd noise from a pub as the band launches into their first song, “The Duke Part II (Friends And Enemies)”. “The Duke Part I” is just the intro with the crowd talking. The two songs are brought together as a bonus track at the end of the EP, titled “The Duke Parts I and II (Friends And Enemies)”. “Do you ever sit and wonder how it all went wrong?” asks Spender. “I do, at The Duke. It’s true.” he answers himself. It is a brilliant opening song. Spender’s vocals are perfect for the song, with a nice mixture of melancholy and anger. It is a perfect opening for the EP. This leads into “Your Fucking Smile”, which again Spender is able to mix a great many emotions into three minutes. There is a ‘clean’ version of the song at the end of the EP which does take out the swearing, but the title remains the same.

“Sugar” is a short, more bluesy song, with some nice guitar work and sparse arrangement. The variety of styles is what makes the EP so outstanding. Sure, punk is there (especially in the very bass heavy “Shoulder To Cry On”, which explodes from beginning to end) but they throw in other styles and music to keep things interesting. The heavier songs have much more power following a short bluesy acoustic break, as well. This makes listening to the EP unsettling but wonderful at the same time.  Things slow down and become acoustic for the incredible, beautiful, and impactful song “Suicide”.

Lyrically, this is a deeply personal and moving album. Like some of the great punk artists of the past, vocalist Bobby Spender ties in a great deal of emotion and his own personal experiences in the songs, which makes the EP inviting and embracing. It makes for a fascinating ride from the crowd noises at the beginning until the end of the EP.

The band have noted that this is a transitional period for The Pleasure Dome, and comparing it to their earlier releases, one can see how that is the case with this music. They are certainly trying some new approaches to their music and including a variety of sounds and music throughout the all too short EP. This new sound and approach are working for The Pleasure Dome. Liminal Space is a powerful, strong, and brilliant burst of energy wrapped up in some aggressive music that invites listeners in to enjoy and maybe see themselves in the lyrics.

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