downset.
downset.
Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/release/10690277-Downset-Downset
Year Of Release: 1994
Review
I was living in France in 1994 when downset.’s first album was released. It wasn’t until March 1995 that I first got to see the band live, at (what was then called) Le Théâtre Barbey in Bordeaux. The opening acts were Phobimaniacs and Shootyz Groove (I still have their earlier stuff on high rotation). It was a great gig, and my real first exposure to a band that was a level above the ones playing pub gigs on the weekend. I also remember spending some time chatting to the lady selling merch. She was from the UK, and I was starved for someone English-speaking to talk to. At the end of the gig, I convinced her that it would be great if we could go backstage and meet the band. So, four of my friends and I got to go back and meet them. I think we spent at least an hour talking to them, possibly longer. It was mainly with Rey Oropeza (in a mix of English and Spanish), although I remember James Morris telling me about the German audiences being particularly crazy and breaking 6 guitars during that part of the tour. They were so nice to us, and I was so naïve and asking so many questions about which bands they knew (not realising some of the feelings about Rage Against The Machine), what various songs were about, and so on. I’ve never had that kind of access to a musician I’ve liked since. And there are no photos, because it wasn’t really something you took a camera to. Just a mind-blowing night.
In any case, if you like rap-rock that’s authentic – these guys are for you. Standout tracks are Anger!, My American Prayer, and Holding Hands. But really the album stands up as a playthrough experience. Funnily enough, even though I’d been listening to the album for many years after that concert, it wasn’t until I picked up a copy of the CD in the early 2000s that I was able to get more familiar with Dying Of Thirst – as the dubbed cassette I had didn’t have enough room for that track. This album is nothing but good memories.
Rating: 10/10