Going back to a recent Saturday evening, where I decided to go for a bit of a walk, headphones in place and seeking a possible soundtrack to drown out the London ambience. After much mindless scrolling on my phone and not looking where I was going, I eventually settled on a long-neglected and somewhat overlooked album, The Destruction of Small Ideas by Sheffield lads 65DaysOfStatic.
Bewildering album art as standard.
Compared to their previous releases, their third offering is far less 'noisy' as far as dynamic compression is concerned, opting to lower the volume so that the listener can actually hear everything that is going on in each track, rather than being attacked by the cacophony. For once I actually did some research to discover that this was a deliberate move after being inspired by a magazine review in which the author bemoans the ongoing 'loudness wars' fiasco.
For those unfamiliar with what that means, it is where an album or song, usually in the mastering stage, gets its dynamic range processed which effectively compresses it to produce a seemingly louder mix overall. That is the bare bones of it, I am not so much of an audiophile as to know much more, I confess. This method has been a gradual yet increasing problem since the advent of CDs and it causes distortion and sometimes leads to a generally unpleasant listening experience .
Yes, this album.
This is effectively the band or artist showing off in effect, as the dynamically louder tracks stand out more, thus calling the listener to pay more attention, if only to remark on how utterly terrible it sounds. It is strange that, with the competitive element near-eliminated thanks to no one actually buying CDs any more, this trend is not only continuing but becoming even more prevalent, especially with regards to the nightclub scene where it is not only rife but appears to be encouraged. In that genres slight defence, they have mastered the art of side-chaining and other forms of dancing around the unlistenable; as such it doesn't sound quite as horrid or blaring as, say, compressing the drums on a rock album.
Which explains Lars' expression here.
Going back to 65DOS, the fact that they had to consciously make their dynamic range wider, or leave it largely uncompressed, says as much for the modern music scene. When a band does this it shouldn't be out of defiance but because it just plain sounds better. To be frank, going by their other albums, dynamic compression sounds like it'd benefit, but as 'Destruction...' proves, a wider listening range brings forth many aural pleasantries. Their glitch-drenched buzzes and squeaks sink behind the lush pianos and ambient sounds, with their organic percussion and guitars marrying it all together; a real treat.
With so many bedroom producers that are floating about these days, surely there should be no need for such dynamic butchery, but yet it continues, ad nausea I fear. No wonder there is an issue with hearing damage, especially when the poor things are being assaulted with every note pushing beyond the loudest it could, and indeed should, possibly go.
If you do happen to own an album, or even a track, that you find is quieter than most of your collection, simply turn the volume up and enjoy the lack of discomfort it brings; your ears will thank you.
- S M
Finally, listen to the prettiness that is this not-compressed-to-fuckery song:
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